On March 4, 2020, CNIPA declared the Chinese design patent No. 2014300323066.6 for "Smart for Two" and "Smart for Four" completely invalid. This design patent has a priority date of August 21, 2013. The killer reference is the disclosure of the pictures of "Smart for Two" and "Smart for Four" on Tencent Auto Channel website on December 27, 2012 which cited the report of《Autocar》. CNIPA found that even though there are differences in the design patent and the disclosed pictures, the design for "Smart for Two" is obvious in light of the pictures of the two-door car disclosed on the Tencent website and the design for "Smart for Four" is obvious in light of the combination of the pictures for two-door and four-door cars as disclosed.

This is not the first time a design patent for cars being invalidated due to prior disclosure. It is crucial for the automakers to make sure the design of their new cars or new generation of cars remain secret until design applications are filed.