Fashion Design Bill - Innovative Design Protection Act of 2012

The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved S. 3523.  The companion bill in the House, HR 2511, which was the subject of our prior post concerning the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act, is pending and has been referred to the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet.

Apple v. Samsung: Apple requests injunctions

Following the jury verdict, Apple has requested an injunction of seven Samsung phones based on design patent infringement of D677 and D305.

Update on Wednesday, August 29, 2012 at 9:00AM by Marc Albert Robinson

As reported by Reuters, Judge Koh has set a December 6, 2012, hearing date for Apple's request for injunctions.  Originally, the hearing was scheduled for September 20, 2012, but this date will now be used for a hearing to dissolve the sales ban on Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Apple V. Samsung: Jury Verdict

Apple obtained a $1.05 billion verdict in the Northern District of California.  The jury found that all of Apple's asserted patents were valid and enforceable.  CNET has posted a color graphic outlining the devices found to be infringing, which also includes the trade dress claims.  As to infringement of the design patents, the jury found the following (from pp. 6-7 of the verdict).  

The D667 patent:

The D087 patent:

The D305 patent:

The D889 patent:

Apple v. Samsung: Samsung records a win in the UK

Following Samsung's successful attempt for temporary relief from an injunction against their Galaxy Nexus smart phone, and Samsung's unsuccessful attempt for temporary relief from an injunction against their Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet, see Bloomberg, British High Court Judge Colin Birss has issued a judgment that at p. 39 states, with emphasis added:

The informed user’s overall impression of each of the Samsung Galaxy Tablets is the following.  From the front they belong to the family which includes the Apple design; but the Samsung products are very thin, almost insubstantial members of that family with unusual details on the back.  They do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design.  They are not as cool.  The overall impression produced is different.

...

The Samsung tablets do not infringe Apple’s registered design No. 000181607-0001.

Update on Wednesday, July 18, 2012 at 1:29PM by Marc Albert Robinson

Bloomberg reports that Judge Birss has ordered Apple to publish a notice on its website for six months, as well as in several newspapers and magazines, that the Samsung Galaxy tablets do not infringe Apple's designs, to "correct the damaging impression" that Samsung copied Apple's product.

Oblon Spivak attorney serves as Vice Chair on award-winning IPO Design Rights Committee

The Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) has designated the IPO Design Rights Committee as a recipient of the 2012 Outstanding Committee of the Year award.  We congratulate Ed Tracy, a Senior Attorney in Oblon Spivak's Electrical and Mechanical Patent Prosecution and Industrial Designs groups, for his service as Vice Chair on the award-winning IPO Design Rights Committee.

The Outstanding Committee of the Year Award has been given in recognition of outstanding service in promoting reliable, effective, and up-to-date intellectual property systems since 2003.

According to its Charter, the IPO Industrial Designs Committee focuses its work on "identifying challenges in industrial design intellectual property (IDIP) ownership," and "educating IPO members, the judiciary and other stakeholders regarding the value of IDIP ownership, the impact of relevant changes in the legal landscape of each of the various jurisdictions, and any new proactive measures owners and practitioners should take to maximize the potential benefits from IDIP ownership."