The consumer technology products business is big. In 2018, the Consumer Technology
Association reported that the industry generated $351 billion in retail revenue. 1 A …

Every year, fifty million people in the United States break their smartphone screens. 1 Those
who can afford it face a choice-either repair or replace their phones. A new screen for an …

When designers obtain exclusive intellectual property (IP) rights in the. functional aspects of
their creations, they can wield these rights to increase both the costs to their competitors and …

Design stands out among intellectual property subject matter in terms of the extent of
overlapping protection available. Different forms of intellectual property usually protect …

The US design patent system has been repeatedly criticized as being too expensive.'It is
true that design patents are expensive, at least compared to some other forms of intellectual …

Section 289 of the Patent Act provides that, for certain acts of design patent infringement, the
infringer" shall be liable to the owner to the extent of his total profit, but not less than $250."'In …

One of the most important questions in contemporary design patent law is how to interpret
the phrase “article of manufacture” in 35 USC § 289. While there has been much discussion …

To be patentable, a design is supposed to be novel, nonobvious, and ornamental.! But every
week, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues patent for designs that seem to …

Intellectual property (IP) laws were drafted for tangible objects, but 3D printing technology,
which digitizes objects and offers manufacturing capacity to anyone, is disrupting these laws …

The legal literature is full of dire empirical assertions about design patents. Commentators
say that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rejects around half of all design …