Global E-commerce platforms continue to grow, with many online marketplaces replacing traditional brick-and-mortar stores. While online marketplaces help legitimate products reach consumers more widely than brick-and-mortar...more
8/26/2024
/ Amazon ,
Brand ,
Consumer Product Companies ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Counterfeiting ,
Design Patent ,
E-Commerce ,
eBay ,
Goods or Services ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Internet Retailers ,
Online Marketplace ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patents ,
Retail Market ,
Takedown Notices ,
Trademark Infringement ,
Trademarks ,
Wal-Mart
Ten Section 337 Investigations were terminated in the first half of 2024. Of those ten investigations, two involved design patents. Although those investigations ended with the Commission issuing no remedial orders (including...more
7/25/2024
/ Cease and Desist Orders ,
Design Patent ,
Exclusion Orders ,
Final Determinations ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Investigations ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Section 337 ,
Utility Patents
On May 21, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, sitting en banc, overruled more than 40 years of precedent defining the design patent obviousness standard. The decision eliminates the Rosen-Durling test,...more
Design Patent Trends at the ITC -
The trend of the US International Trade Commission issuing remedial orders for design patents at higher percentages than for utility patents continued in 2023.1 From 2015-2023, 356 such...more
Section 337 investigations at the ITC have proven to be an efficient and powerful method for Complainants seeking relief from unfair importation. The Commission’s injunctive powers provide an attractive forum for Complainants...more
2/15/2024
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Design Patent ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Investigations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Section 337
The trend of the US International Trade Commission issuing remedial orders for design patents at higher percentages than for utility patents continued in 2023.1 From 2015-2023, 356 such investigations were concluded. And of...more
All three of the challenges that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) instituted in 2022 resulted in a final written decision canceling the challenged patent. Two of the three final written decisions rendered in 2023 are...more
2/9/2024
/ America Invents Act ,
Anticipation ,
Design Patent ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Obviousness ,
Patent Litigation ,
Prior Art ,
PTAB Precedential Opinion Panel (POP) ,
Technology
Not surprisingly, 2023 was another notable year for design rights around the globe. However, nowhere more than the U.S. did we see court decisions that will, in the case of one, and could in the case of another, have...more
2/8/2024
/ America Invents Act ,
Appeals ,
CAFC ,
Design Patent ,
EU ,
Innovation Patent ,
Innovative Technology ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Investigations ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Section 337 ,
USPTO
Directors Tracy-Gene G. Durkin, Deirdre M. Wells, Daniel A. Gajewski, and Ivy Clarice Estoesta will present the webinar "2023 Design Patents Year in Review: Analysis and Trends" on Tuesday, January 30, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. EST....more
Last year, in our inaugural issue of “The Year in Review,” we reported that since the landmark jury verdict in the IP litigation between Apple and Samsung in 2012, which awarded more than $1B to Apple for infringement of...more
2/28/2023
/ Appeals ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Design Patent ,
Exclusion Orders ,
Final Determinations ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Investigations ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patents ,
Section 337 ,
Utility Patents
In 2022, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) did not issue any final written decisions involving design patents. However, it did issue three decisions granting review of challenged design patents and three decisions...more
2/23/2023
/ America Invents Act ,
Anticipation ,
Appeals ,
Design Patent ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
Obviousness ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Prior Art ,
Software Patents
Last year, in our inaugural issue of “The Year in Review,” we reported that since the landmark jury verdict in the IP litigation between Apple and Samsung in 2012, which awarded more than $1B to Apple for infringement of...more
2/21/2023
/ Anticipation ,
Appeals ,
Article of Manufacture ,
Australia ,
Chile ,
China ,
Claim Construction ,
Damages ,
Design Patent ,
EU ,
Exclusion Orders ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Foreign Patent Applications ,
India ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Likelihood of Success ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Noninfringement ,
Obviousness ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Registration ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Prior Art ,
Remedies ,
Reversal ,
Section 337 ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Summary Judgment ,
The Hague System ,
Trade Dress ,
United Arab Emirates (UAE) ,
USPTO
Following the successful release of the firm's inaugural year-in-review report last year, we will again be hosting a webinar featuring the highlights of our 2023 report. Webinar speakers will provide an overview and analysis...more
From consumer products to graphical user interfaces to pharmaceuticals and medical devices, design patents have become essential tools in the IP toolkit for companies of all sizes. Not only are they relatively inexpensive and...more
In May 2020, we reported in an article published by Law360, “design patents outperform utility patents when it comes to injunctive relief.” The same is true when it comes to a rare form of injunctive relief—a general...more
Continuing the trend that we analyzed in May 2020, petitions to the US Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB) requesting inter partes review or post-grant review for design patents maintained an...more
This year, we will mark the 10-year anniversary of the first jury verdict in the landmark IP litigation between Apple and Samsung, which resulted in the jury awarding more than $1B to Apple. More than $500M of that award was...more
3/2/2022
/ Anticipation ,
Appeals ,
Article of Manufacture ,
Australia ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
China ,
Design Patent ,
EU ,
Exclusion Orders ,
Final Written Decisions ,
Foreign Patent Applications ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Intellectual Property Litigation ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Inter Partes Review (IPR) Proceeding ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Korea ,
Nexus ,
Nonobvious ,
Ornamental Design ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Filings ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Invalidity ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Registration ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
Post-Grant Review ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Prior Art ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Section 102 ,
Section 103 ,
Section 337 ,
Substantial Evidence ,
Summary Judgment ,
The Hague System ,
USPTO ,
Utility Patents ,
Vacated
In conjunction with the forthcoming release of the firm's inaugural year-in-review report, speakers will offer case summaries and analysis of particularly significant design patent updates and trends. Specifically, the...more
2/23/2022
/ Design Patent ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
International Trade Commission (ITC) ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Infringement ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Prosecution ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
USPTO ,
Webinars
Product design holds tremendous monetary value globally. This often leads to successful designs falling victim to knock-offs that can damage brand loyalty and reduce revenue. Design patents, which protect the ornamental...more
Three years ago, the Supreme Court announced a seemingly simple separability test for determining whether features of a useful article are eligible for copyright protection in the landmark decision Star Athletica v. Varsity...more
Earlier this month, the Court of Justice of the European Union held that the taste of a food product cannot be classified as a work protectable by copyright.
This decision appears to be in line with U.S. Copyright law,...more
11/30/2018
/ Copyright ,
Corporate Branding ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Design Patent ,
EU ,
Food Marketing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Nonobvious ,
Novelty ,
Trade Dress ,
Trade Secrets
Design patents are often the go-to option for protecting the visual features, or design, of a product. But design patent protection is not always available, such as after the product has been on sale, offered for sale, or...more
10/3/2018
/ Acquired Distinctiveness ,
Adidas ,
Appeals ,
Design Patent ,
Fashion Branding ,
Fashion Design ,
Inherently Distinctive ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Nonfunctionality ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Sketchers ,
Trade Dress ,
Trademark Registration ,
Trademarks
The July 2018 issue of Sterne Kessler's The Goods on IP® discusses developments on copyright infringement lawsuit timing, prosecuting consumer product claims that include conjunctive limitations, and an update on membership...more
8/1/2018
/ Canada ,
Claim Construction ,
Consumer Product Companies ,
Copyright ,
Copyright Infringement ,
Design Patent ,
Foreign Patent Applications ,
Patent Applications ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patents ,
The Hague System ,
USPTO
As a counterpoint to our article last month regarding a copyright infringement and breach of contract lawsuit filed against Target over a computer font program, we provide a brief overview of the options for protecting the IP...more
On May 13, 2015, the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) will begin accepting U.S. design patent applications under the Hague Agreement. This agreement allows U.S. applicants to file up to 100 designs in over 64 member...more