Nike files Amicus Brief in Lawman Appeal
Nike, Inc. has filed its amicus brief with the CAFC in the Lawman v. Winner design patent case. [Download brief here]
Nike arges that the decision should be reconsidered and revised "for at least three reasons:"
"First, because every design can, at some level, be described as a combination of known elements, Lawman's newly created rule that a point of novelty cannot reside in a combination of known design elements will render otherwise valid and enforceable patents "uninfringeable." This result contradicts the Patent Act by rendering the exclusive rights conferred to design patent owners a nullity.
"Second, Lawman ignores this Court's own longstanding precedent. Importantly, at least a trio of Federal Circuit cases stands for the proposition that a point of novelty can reside in a combination of known design elements. Hence, the new point of novelty rule applied in Lawman should be reconsidered.
"Third, Lawman fails to apply the point of novelty test consistent with its intended purpose, effective turning an infringement test into one for validity."