Monday, September 24, 2012

Design Litigation Beyond Apple/Samsung


Design patents are not just for Apple anymore. Yoga-apparel maker Lululemon Athletica Inc. has asserted its design patents covering the "Astro" yoga pant against Calvin Klein Inc. and its manufactuer in a complaint filed last month in Delaware District Court. 

Lululemon has asserted three design patents in this action, including D645,644, which covers a yoga pant with waistband that includes overlapping panels of fabric, D661,872, which covers the waistband of the pant, and D662,281 which covers a “Capri” style pant with the same waistband.  In addition to the asserted design patents, Lululemon has applied for over 14 design patents on its products, including jackets, shorts and tank tops.   Exemplary figures from the design patents are shown below.

Some experts predict that this suit “could provide new ammunition for the [fashion] industry to wield against copycats.”

By Julia Mathis