In a case of first impression, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed a New Jersey federal judge’s decision that a basket featuring an overlapping "Y" pattern, sold by Squire Patton Boggs client Home Expressions Inc., did not infringe on a design patent of household products company Curver Luxembourg SARL.
On September 12, the Federal Circuit upheld the dismissal of a design patent infringement case Curver Luxembourg SARL brought against Home Expressions Inc., ruling that the scope of Curver’s patent on an ornamental design for a chair is strictly limited by its claim language and title “Pattern for a Chair.”
The precedential ruling stresses that design patents are not granted “for a surface ornamentation in the abstract” and emphasizes the importance of the US Patent and Trademark Office rules requiring design patent claims to be limited to an ornamental design applied to a particular article of manufacture.
The Square Patton Boggs team representing Home Expressions was led by Steven Auvil and supported by Jeremy Dutra. Commenting on the decision, Mr. Auvil said, “Home Expressions, Jeremy and I are very pleased the Federal Circuit affirmed the district judge’s dismissal of the case. The court reached the right result for the right reasons.”