Factoring Out of Functional Elements Proper in Design Patent Infringement Analysis
T he U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued their second significant design patent opinion in the past two weeks. In the most recent decision, the Court affirmed a finding of no-infringement of a design patent after a district court had first construed the claim by factoring out the functional elements of the design. Richardson v. Stanley Works, Inc., No. 2009-1354 (Fed. Cir., Mar. 9, 2010).
Federal Circuit Urges Caution in Construing Design Patents
In a decision issued February 24, 2010 (Case No. 2008-1596), a panel of the Federal Circuit reversed a finding by the International Trade Commission (ITC) that a design patent owned by Crocs, Inc. was not infringed by various respondents. In explaining its reasoning, the Court warned against reliance on detailed verbal descriptions of the claimed design, stating:
USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Issues Final Amended Rules of Practice - August 1, 2007
There has been an important development at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ("TTAB"). On August 1, 2007, the TTAB published its long-awaited "Miscellaneous Changes to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Rules", which amend the Trademark Rules of Practice before the TTAB (PDF copy attached). This package of rules follows the February 2006 proposed rules, which generated much concern and debate amongst trademark practitioners in the U.S.
Dilution Bill Passes Senate and Is Cleared for the President's Signature
By voice vote yesterday afternoon, the Senate passed HR 683, the Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2005 ("TDRA"). The legislation has been cleared for forwarding onto the White House for the President's signature.
Oblon, Spivak Recognized in National Law Journal's Who Represents Corporate America for 2006
For Immediate Release (September 18, 2006) Alexandria, Va.– Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, P.C., is pleased to have been recognized by the National Law Journal in its 2006 edition of Who Represents Corporate America, as primary outside intellectual property counsel to U.S. supermarket chain, Safeway Inc. Safeway ranks as the nation's 50th largest company in the Fortune 250, with annual revenues of more than $38 billion.