Chief Judge Signals Changes May Be Coming For The Ordinary Observer Test

On February 2, 2026, a split Federal Circuit panel affirmed summary judgment of no design-patent infringement issued by a Maine federal court. Range of Motion Prods., LLC v. Armaid Co. Inc., No. 2023-2427, 2026 WL 261890 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 2, 2026). The panel majority's analysis was routine under the governing framework for assessing design-patent claim construction and infringement set forth in the Federal Circuit's 2008 en banc decision in Egyptian Goddess v. Swisa. Chief Judge Moore, however, dissented and frankly called for revisiting Egyptian Goddess and overhauling the "ordinary observer" standard—a move that signals big changes may be coming for design-patent litigation, both in the district courts and the PTAB.