Apple v. Samsung: “Look and feel” redux? Not quite.

Written by Brandon Baum , of baum legal and Practice Center Contributor.

It is part of the IP zeitgeist that Apple sued Microsoft for copying Apple’s “look and feel” in Windows 3.0 and lost. That is not really the case, as the issues were more complicated and nuanced than that. But that story is for another post.

Some have asked whether Apple is again asserting its failed “look and feel” argument against Samsung in its recently filed lawsuit. Let’s have a look.

Apple does claim that Samsung’s Galaxy S i9000 smartphone copies the “trade dress” of the iPhone 3G. (See excerpt of complaint below). (more…)

04.27.11 | Patent Litigation, posts | Stefanie Levine

U.S. Design Patent Considerations For Chinese Companies

The following guest post was written by Foley & Lardner Partner Marshall J. Brown.

Like industrial design registrations and design patents in many countries, U.S.design patents can serve as an effective tool to prevent competitors, counterfeiters, and other parties from copying your company’s proprietary designs. While the process for obtaining a U.S. design patent is fairly straightforward, there are several aspects to design patents that are unique to the United States. Many of these features provide applicants and patent holders with valuable benefits not available elsewhere, while others place particular burdens on inventors and attorneys. These issues need to be recognized when maneuvering through the process of obtaining a design patent. The following discussion focuses on a few of the aspects unique to the U.S. design patent system.

  1. The 12-month grace period. A U.S. design patent application may be filed up to 12 months after the design is first described in a printed publication, is in public use in the United States, or is offered for sale in the United States. This provides companies with the opportunity to determine whether a product will be sufficiently successful to warrant the investment in a U.S.design patent. (more…)

10.22.10 | Patent Issues, USPTO | Stefanie Levine