Competing with overseas manufacturers in the fashion industry

The California Attorney General is aiding the efforts of U.S. fashion designers to fairly compete with overseas clothing manufacturers in China and India. While there are challenges in enforcing rights related to clothing and accessory design, the state’s attorney...

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 use when faced with an obvious rejection under Section 103. In this blog post, we’ll look at how this obviousness...

Obviousness Rejections in Patent Applications

We worry most about obviousness when an invention claims an incremental improvement over the existing technology. Obviousness is less of an issue where we have a revolutionary new direction in the technology or a fairly unpopulated art area where there are few...

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 something slightly different than other designers. Design patents protect any innovative three-dimensional product that is...

Should I file an RCE?

You receive a final office action that allows some claims, giving you the option to file an RCE to keep arguing the non-allowed claims. In the end, you may get a patent with broader claims. However, there is some amount of risk in not capturing the allowed claims. The...