Sarah Burstein Profile picture
Art major turned law professor. @design_law@mastodon.social https://t.co/oCyIFRt7Wt
Oct 28, 2022 15 tweets 5 min read
Federal Circuit reverses NDIL grant of a preliminary injunction in a "Schedule A" case, finding the court improperly analyzed the issue of design patent infringement: bit.ly/3Wh8ynI Chart annexed to the court'... I need to read this more deeply but, on first skim, it seems like the infringement expert may have been falling victim to the concept fallacy. The accused products just don't look the same as the claimed designs, even if they feature an "hourglass shape."
Oct 28, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
Issued this week to Shenzhen Zewei Network Technology Co., Ltd—D968,029, for a design for a “Makeup Practice Tool”: bit.ly/3sCUoiR #DesignPatents A rectangular plate-like item with two heavy-lidded eyes, no This one was issued to a different patentee this week: A rectangular plate-like item with two heavy-lidded eyes, no
Sep 3, 2022 12 tweets 3 min read
Great post on a really interesting and important case. I'll share a few additional thoughts: I do think that comparison art should be limited; it shouldn't be "anything goes." The question is where that limit should be. I think it should mirror the question of scope.
Dec 30, 2021 9 tweets 4 min read
.@WilliamsSonoma (@westelm) accuses @Wayfair of infringing various design patents, engaging in false advertising, and violating both Massachusetts and California unfair competition laws: design-law.tumblr.com/post/671760508… As others have pointed out, there may be some prior art issues here:
Dec 29, 2021 4 tweets 3 min read
It's not every day that I see a book about Civil War belt buckles cited as prior art in a design patent case (from @GRIPSIX v. Argali Outdoors): design-law.tumblr.com/post/671763534… By the way, this is not how design patent invalidity works:
Sep 14, 2020 8 tweets 4 min read
Sad to say the CBP is right here: A product that looks too much like another can be a "counterfeit" under the Lanham Act even if the packaging makes it clear these products don't come from Apple. The courts have ruled that product shapes can be registered as trademarks. Once so registered, copycat designs can qualify as "counterfeits"--again, even if the labeling is clear and non-deceptive.
Dec 17, 2019 4 tweets 1 min read
Morning trademark musing: There are two companies currently involved in a trademark and trade dress dispute. I buy the contested products from both of them. The purported mark owner has messed up 50% of my orders and I just learned that while it sells gift sets, it doesn't provide wrapping, gift receipts, or gift messages.
Dec 27, 2018 6 tweets 2 min read
Question: When & how did the law shift from "trade dress is the total look and feel of a product" to "you can claim any visual element(s) of a product design as your trade dress"? A lot of cases still parrot the old "total image" type language but: (1) either that language was never correct; or (2) something very fundamental has changed.
Oct 24, 2018 7 tweets 2 min read
Design patent law is underdeveloped. But SCOTUS should "stay out of it"? If SCOTUS had stayed out of #appsung, we'd be stuck with the insane (and ahistorical) Apple/Nordock rule.