Federal Circuit Changes Design Patent Infringement Standard

Federal Circuit Changes Design Patent Infringement Standard

Client News
On September 22, 2008, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit changed the standard for determining when a design patent is infringed. In a unanimous en banc decision in Egyptian Goddess, Inc. v. Swisa, Inc. (Fed. Cir. Dkt. No. 2006-1562), the Federal Circuit abandoned its "point of novelty" prong, and returned, albeit with some new twists, to the "ordinary observer" test first established by the Supreme Court in 1871. The Federal Circuit provided other guidance that will also likely benefit design patent plaintiffs. For more, see our recent Email Alert.

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