Oblon, Spivak Launches Protecting Designs Law Blog

Alexandria, Va. (May 26, 2011) – The law firm of Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, L.L.P. announces the launch of its Protecting Designs Blog (www.protectingdesigns.com), to serve as a forum on matters involving the protection and enforcement of industrial design rights in the U.S. The blog will help users stay current with newly filed litigations involving design patents and trade dress infringements, recent decisions, helpful practice tips, and news. Further, it will serve as a resource for quick access to relevant statutes, rules and procedures, and relevant websites.

“Our Industrial Design practice group has been growing in recent years, as companies increasingly value design patents and trade dress protection. Companies all over the world come to recognize that product sales are driven by the appearance of products, their feel and look, in addition to their functions. We created our blog in response to these trends,” said Philippe Signore, who chairs Oblon, Spivak’s Industrial Design Practice Group.

“In recent years, companies have obtained design rights in many different fields, including consumer electronics; various parts and components of automobiles, aircraft, and other vehicles; robots; manufacturing equipments, containers, household appliances; and graphical user interfaces. Design patents and trade dress protection complement utility patents and trademarks in a well-rounded IP portfolio. Design rights can provide companies with a relatively quick and effective method of preventing competitors from infiltrating a market by mimicking the design of a successful product, prevent price erosion and protect their share in the U.S. market,” said Mr. Signore.

The Protecting Design Blog is provided and maintained by the Industrial Design practice group of Oblon, Spivak, which handles all aspects of protecting and asserting design rights. The firm’s Industrial Design practice group is formed of dedicated professionals who focus on protecting designs using a variety of intellectual property regimes, including design patents, trade dress and copyright.

Assisting clients for 40 years, Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, L.L.P. is one of the largest intellectual property specialty firms in the United States. The firm provides a full range of intellectual property services, including litigation matters in all courts and the ITC, as well as patent prosecution, reexamination, opinions, due diligence, trademark, copyright and patent interference services.

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