Glencairn filed a trademark infringement suit in against Plamazonx LLC, claiming Plamazonx’ sales of whiskey tasting glasses sold as “Del Rey Glas...
Trade Dress or Design Patent? Why Not Both!?
Design patents are faster to acquire but they only have a 14 year lifespan for protection. Trade dress (distinctive, brand identifying appearance or...
Are Headphones a Fashion Accessory?
Beats manufactures distinctive headphone products in which it claims trade dress and design patent protection. The protection afforded under patent an...
Spanx v. Yummie Tummie (a/k/a Sara Blakely v. Heather Thomson Schindler)
Yummie Tummie owns 7 design patents on its popular body shapewear. Yummie Tummie accused Spanx of patent infringement after seeing look-alike versions...
A Case Study in Using a Utility Patent to Invalidate a Design Patent on the Same Article of Manufacture: Telebrands Corp v. Del Laboratories, Inc.
A New York federal district court case highlights the importance of having a unified patent strategy, and coordination between the marketing departmen...
Paris Hilton not Flattered by Imitation
Celebrity socialite Paris Hilton launched a line of fragrances and bath products in 2004. Last year, Perfume Palace unveiled its line of fragrance and...
Checklist to Determine Whether a Design Feature is Functional or Ornamental
In order to qualify for design patent protection, a claimed feature (or combination of features) must be primarily ornamental, not functional. In anal...
Obviousness Test for Design Patents
In our previous article, we looked at how a patent professional performs an obviousness analysis and some potential arguments a patent applicant might...
Fashion design patents are in vogue again
Clothing is often purchased just because of its unique design and look. Designers find new combinations of clothing elements each season, doing someth...
Design Patents for Screen Icons or Images
Screen icons have tremendous branding power for companies. You undoubtedly know these: Smart phones, tablets and other touchscreen devices work primar...