Courts Broaden Design Patents for Digital Products, Set New Limits
Courts and the USPTO have broadened design patent protection for digital products but tightened enforcement criteria.
Why it matters: In-house and law firm counsel face new risks and opportunities as digital interfaces—from AR to holograms—now qualify for design patents, while recent rulings signal narrower enforcement and clarify functional limits.
- USPTO's March 2026 guidance covers digital UIs, AR, VR, holograms, and projected designs.
- Design patents no longer need display screens in application drawings if the article of manufacture is specified.
- The Federal Circuit's February ruling in Range of Motion Products narrows infringement scope by discounting functional elements.
- Courts emphasize specifying the article of manufacture as a key infringement and damages factor.
The landscape for design patents on digital products is shifting. On March 13, 2026, the USPTO issued new guidance that explicitly extends eligibility to computer-generated interfaces and icons, as well as designs found in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), holograms, and projected environments. Applicants are now permitted to use claim language such as 'for' (e.g., 'graphical user interface for a display screen'), streamlining the process and broadening acceptable claim formats. Crucially, applicants no longer need to depict a display screen in their drawings if the title and claim clearly specify an article of manufacture.
- According to Beth Ferrill, Partner at Finnegan, "this new guidance makes it clear that...projected and holographic designs should be eligible for design patent protection." Yet, Ferrill stresses the importance of specifying the article of manufacture to avoid 'disembodied' designs.
On the enforcement side, the Federal Circuit's February 2026 decision in Range of Motion Products, LLC v. Armaid Company Inc. marked a turning point: courts now require functional elements be discounted in infringement analysis. Amicus briefs and commentators highlight courts' increasing reliance on identifying differences and setting a higher bar for similarity, which could complicate future enforcement actions (National Law Review).
- As Ferrill notes, the "underlying specified article of manufacture" is now a focal point not just for validity, but for assessing infringement and damages.
Bottom line: While innovators can now secure design patents for a wider range of digital products, both in-house and law firm counsel must recalibrate their strategies to account for the new limits on enforceability.
By the numbers:
- March 13, 2026 — USPTO expands design patent coverage to digital products
- February 2026 — Federal Circuit sets limits on scope in Range of Motion case
Yes, but: Details on how courts will apply the 'plainly dissimilar' threshold, or how much to discount functional elements, remain unclear.