Determination Of Combined Teaching Of Prior Design Features

If combining prior design features to form a patented design requires significant modification and adjustment – such as cohesion, response, transition, and coordination - to achieve a harmoniously unified appearance and functionality, the combination process may generally be deemed as beyond the knowledge level and cognitive ability of general consumers and it is difficult for them to think of combining such design features. By this time, it may be determined that the prior design does not teach this combination.

Natural Person X owns the design patent "Telescopic Height Gauge" (hereinafter referred to as the Patent). On June 8, 2021, Company A filed an invalidation request against the Patent. CNIPA issued an invalidation decision on December 29, 2021, concluding that the prior designs did not have evidently combined teachings and therefore maintained the Patent's validity. Company A disagreed and filed a lawsuit, requesting the court to revoke the contested decision