Shape Blog Follows Lawman Design Patent Case

In case you didn't notice, the Shape Blog has been following the progress of the CAFC's recent decision in Lawman Armor Corp. v. Winner Int'l LLC, 77 USPQ2d 2017 (Fed. Cir. 2006). The CAFC ruled that, for infringement purposes, a combination of points of novelty in a design cannot itself be a point of novelty. Therefore a design patent whose individual elements are found in the prior art cannot be infringed, regardless of the inventiveness of the overall combination. [Prior TTABlog discussion here].

U.S. Design Patent D-357,621SLIDING HOOK PORTION OF A VEHICLESTEERING WHEEL LOCK ASSEMBLY
Plaintiff-Appellant Lawman Armor has filed a "Combined Petition For Panel Rehearing And For Rehearing En Banc." The Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA) and Nike, Inc. have each filed an amicus brief. AIPLA is expected to file an amicus brief soon. All of these documents may be downloaded at the Shape Blog, or at Dennis Crouch's excellent Patently-O patent law blog.
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