Law Commons^™

Egyptian Goddess, Inc. V. Swisa, Inc.: A Dramatic Change In The Law Of Design Patents?, Evan Szarenski

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “On September 22, 2008, the Federal Circuit, sitting en banc, handed down the most important decision in design patent law in nearly twenty-five years. Egyptian Goddess, Inc. v. Swisa, Inc. (Egyptian Goddess III) abolished the point-of-novelty test first set out in Sears, Roebuck & Co. v. Talge and adopted by the Federal Circuit in Litton Systems, Inc. v. Whirlpool Corp. The point-of novelty test required patent holders to prove that an accused design appropriated the element which sets the patented design apart from the prior art—in addition to the ordinary-observer standard’s requirement of having substantially the same appearance—in order …