Design Patent Links – Nov. 25, 2013

It was a fairly slow week in design patent law. Aside from Suffolk Law School’s design patent conference, all eyes were on Apple v. Samsung and the Federal Circuit’s third decision in the ongoing worldwide litigation between the two technology giants. As for the design patent conference, I think it is safe to declare it a great success. Several guest speakers, including design patent giants Chris Carani, Perry Saidman, and Michael Zeller presented on everything from the “matter of concern doctrine” to the damages issues being raised in Apple v. Samsung. For full coverage see our live

blog of the A.M. session and the P.M. session.

In other news, the analysis of the Federal Circuit’s decision in Apple v. Samsung III continues to pop up across the Internet. Prof. Sarah Burstein’s piece on Patently-O is a good summary of the court’s decision and potential ramifications.

Law 360 had a short explanation of the facts relating to the latest design patented fashion fight in Hanesbrands v. Lululemon, which was filed last week. This should be another interesting design patent grudge match in the fashion world.

As always, if you have any design patent news you would like to see on the Ordinary Observer, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thanks!

Design Patents: Modernizing an Old Property Interest (P.M. Session Live Blog)

We are back from our lunchtime discussion that was directed by Gary Dewar, Senior IP Counsel of New Balance.  Mr. Dewar lead us on an interesting discussion of design patent practice from the client's perspective.  Most interesting was Mr. Dewar's observation that clients tend to view design patents as a gap filler, used when competitors or counterfeiters seek to copy the appearance of a product, but are incapable of replicating the functionality of the product.  Another helpful observation was that the strength of a design patent was almost secondary to the speed with which it can be awarded by the patent office.  Most of the "businesses" that design patent owners confront have no interest in contesting infringement or validity and will simply cease all operation upon receiving a cease and desist letter.  Practitioners should keep this in mind.

More from the P.M. session after the jump!

Design Patents: Modernizing an Old Property Interest (A.M. Session Live Blog)

In lieu of this week's Design Patent Roundup, we will be live blogging the discussion taking place at today's design patent conference at Suffolk University Law School.  We will be providing highlights through Facebook and Twitter, but you can find more details here on the blog.  People are just beginning to arrive for the conference, so the live blogging will commence soon.  Enjoy!

See all our notes after the jump.