http://www.sfipla.org/programs.html

CURRENT ISSUES IN DESIGN PROTECTION AND ENFORCEMENT

Focusing on actual case studies, Mr. Saidman's presentation will cover the pros and cons of the three ways of protecting the aesthetic appearance of a product in the US: trade dress, copyright, and design patent. Mr. Saidman will also cover the effect of the Wal-Mart and Traffix cases on trade dress protection, loosening of the separability requirement for designs in copyright law, and cutting edge design patent issues including the impact of Markman on design patent claims, the erosion of the "ordinary observer" and "point of novelty" infringement tests, the tightening of the test for functionality, and the potential narrowing of design continuation practice.