Partners Alan Herda, Vera Suarez and Tanner Luttrull authored an article in Law360 discussing how a recent ruling on lip implants has affected disputes over design patents.
Following the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's manual of patent examining procedure, or MPEP, the examiner reviewing the application rejected the claimed lip implant design over prior art disclosing an art tool.
The rejection was appealed to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, which, also in accordance with the MPEP, affirmed the examiner's rejection. Finally, the case was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In this appeal, the Federal Circuit reversed the examiner's rejection and overturned patent office precedent as set forth in the MPEP.
To read the full article on Law360, click here.
