Blocked! Court finds doggy jerseys obvious

Description

Abstract: After a souring of the business relationship between the holder of a patent on a design for a football jersey for dogs and a retailer of licensed pet jerseys, the retailer hired another supplier. The patent holder sued for infringement. The district court dismissed the case before trial, finding that the design patent was invalid as obvious. This article explains how courts analyze the obviousness of a design patent and why the appeals court sided with the retailer. MRC Innovations, Inc. v. Hunter Mfg., No. 2013-1433, April 2, 2014 (Fed Cir.)