The author here appears to be confusing design patents with regular patents. A design patent covers the specific appearance of a product, functioning more like

The author here appears to be confusing design patents with regular patents. A design patent covers the specific appearance of a product, functioning more like a trademark than a patent for an invention. The relevant matters here would be whether the appearance is similar enough to cause confusion, not whether anyone has ever used a wrap windshield before. That being said, I do agree that they look nothing alike, so I would not expect this to be a very strong suit.