Toys ‘R’ Us, Dollar General Get Chalk Toy Design Win Affirmed

Toys “R” Us Inc. and Dollar General Corp.'s Dolgencorp unit are free from a design patent, copyright, and trade dress infringement suit over a toy chalk holder designed to look like a pencil.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected arguments by Lanard Toys Ltd. that the retailers improperly stopped carrying its product in favor of a similar toy produced by Ja-Ru Inc.

The lower court interpreted the Federal Circuit’s directives on how to interpret design patents “to a tee,” the Federal Circuit said Thursday.

The decision is a reminder that the design patent infringement analysis compares ...