An Exchange of Short Articles on Functionality Leads to Full Article, Read All Here
There were a series of short articles that appeared in BNA’s PTCJ in a lively exchange between Mr. Saidman and Mr. Medlin, the attorney who represented the accused infringer Swisa in the Egyptian Goddess case. Mr. Medlin and Mr. Saidman had diametrically opposed views on the impact of functionality in assessing design patent infringement. Mr. Medlin took the view that it was a prime factor, and a new defense for accused infringers. Mr. Saidman took the view that any reliance on functionality during the infringement phase of a design patent lawsuit was misguided and had no solid foundation in the case law.
This series of articles (see links below) was the stimulus for Mr. Saidman’s seminal article on functionality, “Functionality and Design Patent Validity and Infringement”, which adopted and refined many of the ideas first expressed in these short articles.
View PDF of first short article by Mr. Saidman titled "Functionality and the Test for Design Patent Infringement: Rarely the Twain Should Meet"
View PDF of the second short article by Mr. Saidman titled "The Ornamental/Functional Dichotomy in Design Patent Law Is Akin to the Idea/Expression Dichotomy in Copyright Law"
View PDF of Mr. Saidman's full article on the subject titled "Functionality and Design Patent Validity and Infringement"
