How To Determine the Aesthetic Features of A Design Patent? The Insight from Taiwan Court’s Decision On The “Sofa” Design Patent

On August 27, 2026, Taiwan’s Intellectual Property and Commercial Court (“IPC Court”) dismissed Ji-Lin Industrial Co. Ltd.’s (Plaintiff) patent infringement clam over its design patent “Sofa” (TW No. D229111, hereafter the ‘111 patent, see below).

The Defendant, Tai Yun Xing Sofa Enterprise Co. Ltd. (“Tai Yun Xing”), was accused of infringing the ‘111 patent by manufacturing and selling its “Amazon LY7606/5759 1-Person Sofa” (Hereafter the “accused product”, see below).

The IPC Court  firstly construed the scope of the ‘111 patent, including the overall aesthetic appearance of the sofa shown in the patent drawings. The design features a multi-component sofa assembly comprising a base support, legs, backplate, seat cushion, backrest cushion, headrest, and integrated armrests.

To determine if the asserted design is infringed by the accused product, the IPC Court elaborated that it would take the 2-step test: first, determining if the accused product is a product that is identical or similar to the ‘111 patent; second, if the accused product falls within the scope of the ‘111 patent. The first step looks into whether the accused product bears the same or similar function or purpose. The analysis of the second step is based on the standard of "Overall Observation and Comprehensive Judgment" from the perspective of an ordinary consumer. More specifically, the IPC Court will evaluate whether the commonalities and differences in design features, weighted by their visual prominence during normal purchase and use, create a confusingly similar overall visual impression.

For step 1, the IPC Court found the accused product was a sofa bearing the same function and purpose of use as the ‘111 patent. 

For step 2, the IPC Court identified the ‘111 patent’s notable visual features as follows: (1) armrest cushions extending integrally from the outer top edge of the armrests and folding inward with fan-blade shaped terminating ends; (2) a headrest narrowed/retracted in width relative to the chair back to produce a layered, tiered silhouette; (3) a headrest cloth extending downward from the top edge to drape over the front of the backrest; and (4) cylindrical support legs.

Based on the identified visual features, the IPC Court then assessed infringement via the framework of "Overall Observation and Comprehensive Judgment" from the viewpoint of an ordinary consumer. Upon further analysis, the IPC Court found that while the accused product also possessed the features of sofa’s main body and curved inclined trapezoidal backplate, the contour of its armrest cushion end, the width and tiering of its headrest, the coverage of its headrest cloth draping, and the shape of its backrest and support legs created substantial visual differences. 

Although the Plaintiff argued that the headrest cloth draping is located in an easily obscured area and should carry minimal weight, the IPC Court disagreed, holding that headrests are prominent focal points during purchase, and the front-and-rear draping remains clearly discernible from side and top views. The Plaintiff further argued that both sofas share armrest cushion folding and a two-tier segmented backrest, the IPC Court held that the armrest cushion ends exhibit distinct geometries (fan-blade vs. curved arc), and the perceived two-tier backrest in the accused product results naturally from a differently structured cloth drape, insufficient to establish visual similarity. The Plaintiff attempted to rely on the Three-Way Comparison Test against prior art to establish similarity. The IPC Court held that the three-way test is merely an auxiliary method. When an overall observation demonstrates that the accused product and the patented design are clearly dissimilar, non-infringement may be ruled directly without prior art triangulation (citing Supreme Court Ruling 111-Tai-Shang No. 1589).

In view of the above, the Plaintiff’s infringement claim based on ‘111 patent was rejected accordingly.

Source: 115-Ming-Zhuan-Su-Zi No.30 (IPC Court), at: https://judgment.judicial.gov.tw/FJUD/data.aspx?ty=JD&id=IPCV,115%2c%e6%b0%91%e5%b0%88%e8%a8%b4%2c30%2c20260827%2c2