![Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.](/img/client_headers/SterneKesslerGoldsteinFox/SKGFHeader.jpg)
[co-author: Patrick Murray]
The statistics below reveal the current trends on proceeding breakdowns, institution rates, and outcomes of design patent PTO litigation. No new design patent petitions have been filed since April 2017. Four final written decisions have issued since the last update in January 2018, two resulting in cancelled claims. Only three proceedings involving design patents are currently pending.
I. Proceeding Breakdown![](https://jdsupra-html-images.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/e1d158c8-63de-4c53-8ba9-7eff3636e0ee-image_1-_april_2018.JPG)
II. Institution Rates/Case Statuses
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:
![](https://jdsupra-html-images.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/e1d158c8-63de-4c53-8ba9-7eff3636e0ee-image_2-_april_2018.JPG)
![](https://jdsupra-html-images.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/e1d158c8-63de-4c53-8ba9-7eff3636e0ee-image_3-_april_2018.JPG)
III. Final Written Decision (FWD) Outcomes
A. Claim Cancellation Rate
The instituted claim has been cancelled in 10 of 14 design FWDs (71%). The overall claim cancellation rate is 77%.
![](https://jdsupra-html-images.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/e1d158c8-63de-4c53-8ba9-7eff3636e0ee-image_4-_april_2018.JPG)
B. FWD Ground Type
C. FWD Prior Art Type
IV. Technology Areas
![](https://jdsupra-html-images.s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/e1d158c8-63de-4c53-8ba9-7eff3636e0ee-image_7-_april_2018.JPG)