Columbia Sportswear Sees Design Patent Win Disappear on Appeal (1)

Columbia Sportswear’s win in a patent infringement case was reversed by the Federal Circuit, in a decision that some patent attoneys said could muddy the waters in design patent cases.

A lower court used the wrong approach to weigh whether Seirus Innovative Accessories’ HeatWave products had similar designs when compared to Columbia’s patented design, the appeals court said Nov. 13.

The precedential decision came as a surprise to some patent attorneys, who said it could substantially weaken design patent protection.

“It looks as though the Federal Circuit may have opened a back door way to avoid charges of design patent ...