Clogging up the Federal Circuit On December 17, 2009, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit addressed in International Seaway Trading Corp. v. Walgreens Corp. whether the "ordinary observer" test from Egyptian Goddess likewise applies to anticipation of design patents. In Egyptian Goddess, the CAFC dropped the "point of novelty" test for design patent infringement and adopted the "ordinary […] Continue Reading →
En banc Federal Circuit scraps point of novelty test for design patent infringement In an en banc decision this morning, the Federal Circuit has unanimously held that the "point of novelty" test for design patent infringement should no longer be applied. As stated by the court: [W]e hold that the "point of novelty" test should no longer be used in the analysis of a claim of design patent […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit grants rehearing en banc in design patent case The Federal Circuit today granted a petition for rehearing en banc in a design patent case, Egyptian Goddess, Inc. v. Swisa, Inc. In that case, the court held that when a design patent's "point of novelty" is a combination of existing design elements, the point of novelty must be a "non-trivial" advance over the prior […] Continue Reading →
“Ordinary observer” can be commercial buyer when buyer uses designed item as part of retail product In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court’s order granting summary judgment of non-infringement of two design patents. Specifically, the court acknowledged that the Supreme Court's decision in Gorham Co. v. White held that an "ordinary observer" for purposes of design patent infringement cannot be an expert. Nevertheless, in this case, the […] Continue Reading →
When point of novelty is a combination of existing elements, it must be a “non-trivial” advance In a case decided yesterday, the Federal Circuit clarified the point-of-novelty test for design patents when the point of novelty is a combination of existing design elements. The court adopted the rule that "to constitute a point of novelty, the combinations must be a non-trivial advance over the prior art." The court likened this analysis […] Continue Reading →
Analysis of overall appearance determines whether patented design is dictated by function In PHG Technologies, LLC v. St. John Companies, Inc., the Federal Circuit vacated the preliminary injunction of the district court finding St. John raised a substantial questions of validity of the two patents-at-issue. At issue were two design patents owned by PHG: the ‘405 and ‘197 patents. The ‘405 and ‘197 patents depend from a […] Continue Reading →