Design Patent PTO Litigation Statistics (Through July 19, 2018)

By: Mark W. Rygiel and Patrick T. Murray

The statistics below reveal the current trends on proceeding breakdowns, institution rates, and outcomes of design patent PTO litigation. Two new design petitions have been filed since May – the first since April 2017. Two final written decisions have issued since the last update in April 2018, neither resulting in the cancellation of a claim. Only three proceedings involving design patents are currently pending.

I. Proceeding Breakdown

II. Institution Rates/Case Studies

The institution rate for design patents, for both claims and proceedings, is 41% (17/41).

For cases overall, the proceeding institution rate is 68%, and the claim institution rate is 61%.

Here is a breakdown of the current case statuses for all of the design cases:

III. Final Written Decision (FWD) Outcomes

A. Claim Cancellation Rate

The instituted claim has been cancelled in 10 of 16 design FWDs (63%). The overall claim cancellation rate is 77%.

C. FWD Prior Art Type