Weekly Round Up of Design Patent Case filings – Week ending Oct. 20, 2012

CFM Consol., Inc. v. Specialty Auto Parts USA, Inc., No. 3:12-cv-05923 (W.D. Wa.) (Oct. 12, 2012)

Design Patent

On October 17, 2012, Flex-a-lite (part of CFM Consolidated, Inc.), maker of automotive cooling products, filed a complaint alleging infringement of its D532095 patent against Specialty Auto Parts USA, Inc. Flex-a-lite sells the Black Magic S-Blade fan that attaches to the vehicle radiator, which is supposed to lead to increased horsepower, torque and gas mileage over a traditional flat blade design.  The D532095 patent is directed to a combined fan assembly and shroud, shown on the right.  The Black Magic S-Blade fan product, made by Flex-a-lite is shown in below, and the allegedly infringing product is shown below on the right.  The case is pending in the Western District of Washington and has been assigned to Judge Ronald B. Leighton.  

The Black Magic S-Blade

Specialty Auto Parts

Aspen Med.Prods., Inc. v. Novitas Med., LLC, No. 2:12-cv-08733 (C.D. Cal.)  (Oct. 11, 2012)

On October 11, 2012, Aspen Medical Products, filed a complaint in the Central District of California, alleging infringement of its D636494 patent against Novitas Medical.  Aspen Medical Products makes and sells upper and lower spinal orthotics, and the D636494 is directed to a Lumbar belt.  According to the complaint, defendant’s  Sequoia products infringe the design covered by the D636494 design patent, shown below. We will continue to monitor the dockets for both of these cases and provide any interesting updates.