Industrial Designs

Sec. 1. This committee shall:

(a) Consider design patent, trade dress and copyright laws, rules, regulations and judicial decisions applicable to the protection of industrial designs.

(b) Consider new legislation pertaining to the protection of industrial designs.

(d) Establish a liaison with the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office and Copyright Office to identify and solve problem areas encountered during prosecution of applications to register and/or patent industrial designs.

(e) Report to the Board of Directors recommendations in regard thereto.

Committee Announcements

	Title	Announcement Description
	AIPLA Fashion Bill / HR 2511 Resolution Passes 16 to 1	The Committee’s Resolution on HR 2511, the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act - the new fashion bill was presented to the Board at the Annual Meeting, and the Board adopted the resolution with one amendment by a vote of 16 to 1. Following is the final text of the Resolution from our notes. AIPLA Board Resolution on H.R. 2511, The Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act October 23, 2011 RESOLVED, that the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) continues to favor, in principle, enactment of fashion design protection. FURTHER RESOLVED, that AIPLA supports enactment of H.R. 2511, Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act, (Goodlatte), 112th Cong., 1st Sess. (2011), or similar legislation. SPECIFICALLY, while AIPLA supports H.R. 2511, AIPLA recommends that: The definition of “apparel” be non-limiting; A “closely and substantially similar” infringement standard be adopted; Any infringement test that approximates a “point of novelty” test be eliminated; Color be permitted as a consideration in determining the scope of protection of a fashion design; Notice not be required for recovery of damages; Sellers and distributors of infringing designs be liable for their infringement; Registration be required for fashion designs, with the power to enforce said registrations be vested to the Secretary of the Treasury and Postal Service; Fashion designs be immune from false marking liability, or in the alternative that standing to bring false marking suits be limited to the U.S. Government; and Design patents be permitted to co-exist with protection for fashion designs under the Act.
	Fashion Bill Conference Call - Monday, 10/3/11 at 3:00 PM EDT	We will hold a call this Monday, October 3, 2011, at 3:00 PM EDT to update the membership on the ID Committee’s efforts regarding the pending Fashion Design Bill (H.R. 2511 aka "Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act"). We have received a number of very good comments to date, and are preparing to vote on the Committee's position, which will be presented to the AIPLA Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting. We will discuss the draft resolution during Monday’s call. Feedback generated from this call will help determine which provisions are most critical, and assist in finalizing the resolution. We will also discuss any further comments that the Committee should consider. See the Committee Documents page for working documents. As a reminder, the hearing video and written testimony can be viewed at the Judiciary's website. View the video now. To call in: 1. Participants dial: Toll-free: 866-906-9888 Toll/International: 857-288-2555 2. When prompted, participants dial the following access code followed by the # sign. Participant: 1825157 # Please join us.
	Annual Meeting -- ID Committee Meeting -- 3:30pm to 5:30pm on Thursday, Virginia A, Lobby Level	As of 10/17, the meeting is scheduled to be in Virginia A, Lobby Level – but please confirm room location on site, as last-minute room changes are not uncommon. We have requested 1 hour of CLE credit for the meeting. We have a full plate of presentations scheduled: · Garfield Goodrum will provide an update on H.R. 2511, the “Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act,” and the Committee’s activities relating to the Act. · We have a group of presenters on the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement, which is likely to be the next big change in U.S. design patent practice: o Nicolas Vigneron and Jakub Pinkovski of OHIM will discuss implementation and use of the Geneva Act in the European Union; o David Gerk and Dana Colorulli of the USPTO Office of Governmental Affairs will discuss the status of U.S. ratification; and o Margaret Polson of Oppendahl Patent Law Firm, LLC will discuss the use of the Geneva Act from a U.S. practitioner’s perspective – both prior to and after U.S. ratification · Perry Saidman will be speaking on the topic of U.S. design patent decisions interpreting the new legal standard for design patent infringement under Egyptian Goddess. At the conclusion of Perry’s presentation, all of the presenters will be available for a panel discussion.