Ford F-150 Design Patents Infringed by Replacement Parts (1)

Ford Motor Co.'s design patents covering parts of its F-150 trucks were valid because they were ornamental, not functional, a federal appeals court ruled.

The designs’ “aesthetic appeal” to customers didn’t make them functional, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit wrote in an opinion unsealed July 23. The case confirms that the patent concepts of exhaustion and repair should apply with equal force in design patent law.

Ford owns U.S. Design Patent Nos. D489,299 and D501,685, covering hood and head lamp designs for the F-150. Ford sued members of the Automotive Body Parts Association, a trade ...