Columbia Sportswear Case Offers Chance for New Design Patent Law

Columbia Sportswear North America Inc.’s second trip to the Federal Circuit promises to address some major design patent issues that attorneys expect to become more salient as those relatively rare cases rise in prevalence.

A US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit panel held in 2020 that a district court must consider if Seirus Innovations Accessories’ logo placement in its waved-pattern design for cold-weather products could save it from infringing Columbia’s patented design. On appeal for the second time after Seirus avoided liability, attorneys say the nation’s top patent court must clarify when logos can help alleged infringers avoid ...