Patent Law | Expert Legal Commentary
March 15, 2010
Int’l Seaway Trading v. Walgreens: The Ordinary Observer Test Is the Sole Test of Invalidity of a Design Patent
Int’l Seaway Trading Corp. v. Walgreens Corp.
By
Olivier A. Taillieu and Thomas F. Zuber of Zuber & Taillieu
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has extended the holding of Egyptian Goddess v. Swisa, 435 F.3d 665 (Fed. Cir. 2008), and held that the “point of novelty” test should no longer be applied to determine validity of a design patent. In Int’l Seaway Trading Corp. v. Walgreens Corp., 589 F.3d 1233 (Fed. Cir. 2009), the Federal Circuit held that only the “ordinary observer” test should apply to questions of patent invalidity due to anticipation or obviousness.
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About the Authors
Olivier A. Taillieu is a Partner of Zuber & Taillieu, focusing on intellectual property litigation and arbitration.
Thomas F. Zuber is a Partner of Zuber & Taillieu, focusing on intellectual property protection and exploitation.
Image Credit: ©iStockphoto.com/julos
