Don’t be distracted by the sports metaphors and the fashion industry commentary. Last month’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands found that decorative elements of cheerleader uniforms were potentially protected by copyright law. That decision opens a new avenue for protection of industrial designs as well, an area which itself has earned a higher profile within IP law recently because of the ongoing fight in Apple v. Samsung. That smartphone case involves design patents, of course, but experts say that the Star Athletica should spur new consideration of how copyright and design patents, as well as trade dress and utility patents, can or can’t work together. Increased use of copyrights to protect industrial design makes new litigation on this issue more likely.
Our panel includes an in-house counsel at a technology company and two law firm lawyers, one specializing in design patents and the other in copyright. They will discuss such questions as:
- How does Star Athletica change the scope of copyright protection for designs? When is copyright protection for useful objects now appropriate?
- What are the differences among the different modes of protection, including “novelty and non-obviousness” for design patents, “originality” for copyrights, and “acquired distinctiveness” for trade dress?
- What are the open questions left by Star Athletica that are likely to be litigated in the future?
Speakers:
- Terry Carroll, IBM Corp.
- Robert Katz, Banner & Witcoff, Ltd.
- Katherine Spelman, Lane Powell PC
