MRC v. Hunter - Opp'n to Cert. Pet.

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    No. 14-5

    THE LEX GROUPDC 1825 K Street, N.W. Suite 103 Washington, D.C. 20006(202) 955-0001 (800) 856-4419 Fax: (202) 955-0022 www.thelexgroup.com

    In The

    Supreme ourt of the United States

    -------------------------- ---------------------------

    MRC INNOVATIONS, INC.,Petitioner,

    v.

    HUNTER MFG., LLP, and

    CDI INTERNATIONAL, INC.,

    Respondents.

    ----------------------------------------------------

    ON PETITION FORWRIT OF CERTIORARI TO

    THE UNITED STATES COURT OFAPPEALSFOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT

    ----------------------------------------------------

    BRIEF IN OPPOSITION

    ----------------------------------------------------

    Perry J. Saidman

    Counsel of Record

    SAIDMAN DESIGNLAW GROUP,LLC

    8601 Georgia Avenue, Suite 603

    Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

    (301) [email protected]

    Edward D. Manzo Andrew D. Dorisio

    Mark J. Murphy Trevor T. Graves

    HUSCH BLACKWELL LLP KING &SCHICKLI,PLLC

    120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2200 247 N. Broadway

    Chicago, Illinois 60606 Lexington, Kentucky 40507

    (312) 655-1500 (859) 252-0889

    [email protected] [email protected]

    [email protected] [email protected]

    Counsel for Respondents Dated: August 27, 2014

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    QUESTION PRESENTED

    Whether Petitioner presented compelling

    reasons for this Court to grant certiorari and review

    a well-reasoned decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals

    for the Federal Circuit (Court of Appeals) affirmingthe district courts summary judgment finding two

    design patents invalid through an established

    obviousness framework that is consonant with KSR

    Intl Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415 (2007)

    such that the Court of Appeals decision does not

    implicate an important federal question in a way

    that conflicts with relevant decisions of this Court or

    the Court of Appeals.

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    iii

    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Page

    QUESTION PRESENTED .......................................... i

    RULE 29.6 STATEMENT .......................................... ii

    TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................ iii

    TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ...................................... iv

    INTRODUCTION ....................................................... 1

    STATEMENT OF THE CASE ................................... 4

    REASONS FOR DENYING THE PETITION ........... 8

    1. Petitioner Glosses Over the Fact

    that Design Patents are

    Fundamentally Different than

    Utility Patents ....................................... 8

    2. Based on Similarity in Appearance,

    the So Related Standard

    Comports with the Visual Nature

    of Designs and the FlexibleApproach Advanced byKSR................13

    3. The Far-Reaching Negative

    Effects of Denying Review are

    Illusory ..................................................20

    CONCLUSION ......................................................... 21

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    TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

    Page(s)

    CASES

    Apple, Inc. v. Samsung Elecs. Co.,

    678 F.3d 1314 (Fed. Cir. 2012) ...................... 11

    Dobson v. Dornan,

    118 U.S. 10 (1886) ............................................ 9

    Durling v. Spectrum Furniture Co.,

    101 F.3d 100 (Fed. Cir. 1996) ........................ 11

    Egyptian Goddess, Inc. v. Swisa, Inc.,

    543 F.3d 665 (Fed. Cir. 2008) .................... 9, 19

    High Point Design LLC v. Buyers Direct, Inc.,

    730 F.3d 1301 (Fed. Cir. 2013) ...................... 11

    In re Borden,

    90 F.3d 1570 (Fed. Cir. 1996) .................. 10, 18

    In re Glavas,

    230 F.2d 447 (C.C.P.A. 1956) ...... 11, 12, 18, 20

    In re Harvey,

    12 F.3d 1061 (Fed. Cir. 1993) ........................ 11

    In re Kahn,

    441 F.3d 977 (Fed. Cir. 2006) .................. 15, 16

    In re Rosen,

    673 F.2d 388 (C.C.P.A. 1982) .................. 10, 12

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    OTHER AUTHORITIES

    Prof. Janice M. Mueller and Daniel Brean,

    Overcoming the Impossible Issue of

    Nonobviousness in Design Patents, Legal

    Studies Research Paper Series, Working PaperNo. 2009-30, University of Pittsburgh School of

    Law, November, 2009 .................................................. 8

    Manual of Patent Examining Procedure .................. 21

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    INTRODUCTION

    Petitioner presents no compelling reasons

    for granting its Petition for a Writ of Certiorari

    (Petition). SeeSup Ct. R. 10. The decisions below

    apply a longstanding design patent obviousness testthat accords with this Courts decision in KSR Intl

    Co. v. Teleflex,Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007). Petitioner

    is mistaken to argue otherwise, and is mistaken that

    review is necessary to ameliorate far-reaching

    negative effects, which Petitioner fails to

    substantiate. Therefore, the Petition should be

    denied.

    Petitioner contends that more than sixty years

    of design patent jurisprudence on the issue of

    obviousness and the decisions below conflict with

    this Courts holding in KSR. Petitioner complains

    that the longstanding so related test for combining

    known prior art designs to render a design patent

    obvious is too loose and therefore somehow at odds

    with the flexible approach required by KSR in

    connection with combining known elements in

    analyzing the obviousness of a utility patent.

    Respondent submits that there is no conflict at all

    finding and articulating that two designs are so

    related based on their overall appearance comportswith KSR, and is entirely consistent with this

    Courts and lower courts design patent

    jurisprudence.

    KSR involved a utility patent (governed by 35

    U.S.C. 101), which is fundamentally different than

    a design patent (governed by 35 U.S.C. 171),

    which is involved in the present case. KSRexpressly

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    rejected any rigidly applied standard to the analysis

    of obviousness, such as the teaching, suggestion, or

    motivation, or TSM, test that had become prevalent

    in utility patent obviousness analysis. KSRat 415,

    418-421. This Court recognized the need to remain

    flexible in the obviousness analysis and considerother factors, such as whether market forces might

    prompt a skilled artisan to vary a prior art approach

    in a manner that would fail to create a patentable

    improvement. Id. at 417. This Court particularly

    emphasized the need for caution in granting a

    patent based on the combination of elements found

    in the prior art. Id. at 415. The overly stringent

    obviousness analysis of utility patents that gave rise

    to KSR does not occur in the design patent

    obviousness framework, which is based not on a

    textual analysis but a visual comparison.

    Assuming the intent of KSR applies to the

    analysis of obviousness of a design patent (this Court

    made no explicit reference to design patents in

    KSR)1, its expansive and flexible approach is already

    imbued in the design patent standard for combining

    two references and was in fact followed here by the

    lower courts, which thoroughly discussed and

    1The Court of Appeals has citedKSRin just one design patent

    decision, saying that this Court did not necessarily intend to

    exclude design patents from the reach of KSR. Titan Tire

    Corp. v. Case New Holland,Inc., 566 F.3d 1372, 1384 (Fed. Cir.

    2009). The application of KSR to design patents has not been

    more explicitly considered because it hasnt been necessary

    the design patent so related test for combining secondary

    references comports withKSRs mandate of a flexible approach.

    KSR addressed an overly rigid obviousness framework that was

    being applied in utility patents which has not been the case

    with design patents.

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    For the foregoing reasons, review by this

    Court is both unnecessary and unwarranted in view

    of the carefully considered, well-reasoned decisions

    rendered in this matter, which are consistent with

    all applicable precedent. As the Petitioner has

    completely failed to carry its burden ofdemonstrating that there are any compelling reasons

    to grant the Petition, it should be denied.

    STATEMENT OF THE CASE

    Respondent Hunter Mfg., LLP (Hunter) is a

    retailer of licensed sports consumer products, and

    has sold pet jerseys since at least as early as 2006,

    typically in connection with licensed material such

    as NFL or MLB logos.

    Petitioner MRC Innovations, Inc. (MRC) is

    the owner by assignment of both patents in suit.

    The 488 patent claims an ornamental design for a

    football jersey for a dog, while the 487 patent does

    the same for a baseball jersey.

    Mark Cohen is the named inventor of both

    patents; he is the principal shareholder of MRC and

    assigned his rights in both patents to that company.

    Prior to the issuance of the patents in suit, Hunterpurchased pet jerseys for dogs from Mark Cohen

    through various companies with which he was

    affiliated. Among others, Cohen supplied Hunter

    with a V2 football jersey and a green pet jersey

    bearing a Philadelphia Eagles logo, which Hunter

    then sold through third-party retailers. The prior

    art V2 and Eagles jerseys are depicted below next to

    the 488 patent:

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    Cohen asserts that in 2009 he designed

    another pet jersey, known as the V3 jersey, whichwould later become the subject of the 488 patent.

    Hunter began purchasing the V3 jersey from one of

    Cohens affiliated companies. Later Cohen filed a

    patent application for both the V3 jersey and the

    baseball equivalent that would later become the

    subject of the 487 patent. In late 2010, the business

    relationship between Cohen and Hunter ended.

    Hunter then sought proposals from other companies

    488 Patent V2 Jersey Eagles Jersey

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    to manufacture and supply it with pet jerseys like

    the V3. Ultimately, Hunter contracted with another

    supplier, Co-Respondent CDI, to supply Hunter with

    pet jerseys.

    Both patents-in-suit eventually issued onMarch 15, 2011. MRC filed suit against both Hunter

    and CDI for willful infringement of both patents.

    Regarding the 487 patent, Hunter through

    discovery identified a prior art pet baseball jersey

    known as the Sporty K9 baseball jersey.

    487 Patent Sporty K9 Baseball

    Jersey

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    respects. MRC Innovations, Inc. v. Hunter MFG,

    LLP, 747 F.3d 1326 (Fed. Cir. 2014).

    REASONS TO DENY THE PETITION

    1. Petitioner Glosses Over the Fact thatDesign Patents are Fundamentally

    Different than Utility Patents

    A design patent is granted for any new,

    original and ornamental design of an article of

    manufacture, 35 U.S.C. 171, while a utility patent

    is granted for any new and useful process, machine,

    manufacture, or composition of matter, 35 U.S.C.

    101. A design patent protects the appearance of a

    product without regard to how it works, and a utility

    patent protects how a product works or functions

    without regard to its appearance.

    Thus, the subject matter of a design patent

    the appearance of a product is fundamentally

    different than a utility patent the way a product

    works or functions.2 A design patent is bereft of a

    2Indeed, commentators have questioned whetherKSR, directed

    to mechanical, utility patent inventions, would be appropriate

    to apply to determining design patent obviousness. See, e.g.,

    Prof. Janice M. Mueller and Daniel Brean, Overcoming the

    Impossible Issue of Nonobviousness in Design Patents, Legal

    Studies Research Paper Series, Working Paper No. 2009-30,

    University of Pittsburgh School of Law, November, 2009

    (Courts should be cautious in automatically applying the

    specific holdings of KSR to designs. Most of the KSRCourts

    discussion is completely irrelevant to what design patents

    protect the ornamental appearance of an article of

    manufacture, considered as a whole, not as a combination of its

    individual features or the manner by which the articles design

    was achieved.)

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    detailed verbal description of the claimed design,

    while a utility patent specification is largely, if not

    exclusively, comprised of written description. A

    design patent consists almost entirely of drawings

    showing how the product looks; a utility patent

    includes a detailed description of how the productfunctions and the metes and bounds of its claims are

    interpreted in view of the detailed description of how

    the invention works.

    On the other hand, a design patent is

    permitted only a single claim, which is required to be

    in a standard format, to wit: The ornamental

    design for [the article which embodies the design],

    as shown and described. 37 C.F.R. 1.153. The

    referenced description is either a perfunctory

    description of the figures (e.g., FIG. 1 is a

    perspective view; FIG. 2 is a side view; and the like)

    or is very limited. Thus, the metes and bounds of a

    design patent claim are defined by the drawings. It

    is widely recognized that design patent drawings

    provide a much better representation of a design

    than words could possibly express.3

    3 In Egyptian Goddess, Inc. v. Swisa, Inc., 543 F.3d 665, 679

    (Fed. Cir. 2008) the Court of Appeals noted: As the Supreme

    Court has recognized, a design is better represented by an

    illustration than it could be by any description and a

    description would probably not be intelligible without the

    illustration.Dobson v. Dornan, 118 U.S. 10, 14 (1886).

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    Due to this fundamental difference in

    patentable subject matter, and even though [d]esign

    patents are subject to the same conditions on

    patentability as utility patents, including the

    nonobviousness requirement . . . . In re Borden, 90

    F.3d 1570, 1574 (Fed. Cir. 1996), of necessity theobviousness of a design patent and a utility patent

    are analyzed within different frameworks.

    Accordingly, for design patents, obviousness

    analysis must focus of what the designs in question

    look like. The jurisprudence in determining when

    the appearance of a claimed design is obvious in

    view of the prior art is well established.

    Determining design patent obviousness rightly has a

    framework tailored to the question of whether the

    appearanceof a product would have been obvious to

    a person of ordinary skill, i.e., an ordinary designer,

    within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. 103. Following is

    a brief summary of that case law.

    When assessing the potential obviousness of a

    design, and before combining prior art references,

    the finder of fact must first find a single primary

    reference, a something in existence, the design

    characteristics of which are basically the same as the

    claimed design, In re Rosen, 673 F.2d 388 (C.C.P.A.1982). Without such a primary reference, it is

    improper to invalidate a design patent on grounds of

    obviousness,Durling v. Spectrum Furniture Co., 101

    F.3d 100, 103-04 (Fed. Cir. 1996).

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    Once a proper primary reference is found,

    secondary references may be used to modify the

    primary reference to create a design that has the

    same overall visual appearance as the patented

    design, provided that the primary and secondary

    references are so related that the appearance ofcertain ornamental features in one would suggest

    the application of those features to the other. In re

    Glavas, 230 F.2d 447, 450 (C.C.P.A. 1956) (emphasis

    added). See alsoApple, Inc. v. Samsung Elecs. Co.,

    678 F.3d 1314, 1329 (Fed. Cir. 2012); High Point

    Design LLC v. Buyers Direct, Inc., 730 F.3d

    1301,1311 (Fed. Cir. 2013). In this context, so

    related means related in visual appearances, not in

    design concepts, In re Harvey, 12 F.3d 1061, 1064

    (Fed. Cir. 1993).

    The so-related test central to this case was

    first enunciated in Glavas, supra, which involved a

    claimed design for a swimming float. The prior art

    included an earlier design for a float (the primary

    reference), and also the design of disparate articles

    such as bottles, soap and razor blade sharpeners (the

    secondary references). Examining the issue of

    whether such non-float secondary references could

    be relevant to a determination of obviousness, the

    court recognized that the nature of ornamentaldesigns is different from functional inventions:

    A design, from the standpoint of

    patentability, has no utility other than

    its ornamental appearance, and the

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    problem of combining references is

    therefore one of the combining

    appearances rather than uses. The

    principle of non-analogous arts,

    therefore, cannot be applied to design

    cases in exactly the same manner asto mechanical cases. The question in

    design cases is not whether the

    references sought to be combined are

    in analogous arts in the mechanical

    sense, but whether they are so related

    that the appearance of certain

    ornamental features in one would

    suggest the application of those

    features to the other. Id.

    This so related test in Glavasled to a finding

    that the [non-float] articles and their shapes are of

    such a nature that they would not, in our opinion,

    suggest the modification to the appearance of a

    traditional float. Id.

    Later, Rosen, while reiterating the holding of

    Glavas, added a requirement that before any

    combination of the prior art can occur, there must

    be a reference, a something in existence, the design

    characteristics of which are basically the same as theclaimed design in order to support a holding of

    obviousness. Rosen,supraat 391. This additional

    requirement of identifying a primary reference

    prevents myriad features from unrelated articles

    being used to create a similar design from whole

    cloth, and applies whether the design patent

    obviousness question relies on one or many

    references. It guards against arbitrary or

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    unwarranted holdings of design patent obviousness,

    and also helps a reviewing court establish the

    propriety of a lower courts finding of design patent

    obviousness.

    The decisions of the lower courts in this caseadhered to this established framework. Specifically,

    the district court found a single reference, a

    something in existence, the design characteristics of

    which are basically the same as the claimed design

    (or stated another way, a primary reference for the

    pet jerseys illustrated in the 487 and 488 Patents).

    For the 488 Patent, it also found a secondary prior

    art design so related to suggest the application of its

    visual features to those of the primary reference. As

    the Court of Appeals below expressly noted in

    affirming the finding of obviousness, the secondary

    references that the district court relied on were not

    furniture, or drapes, or dresses, or even human

    football jerseys; they were football jerseys designed

    to be worn by dogs just the same as the claimed

    jersey in the 488 Patent. MRC Innovations, 747

    F.3d at 1332. It cannot be disputed that the analysis

    of the situation was made explicit, with the lower

    court explaining in detail why the patents at issue

    were invalid as obvious in view of the prior art.

    2. Based on Similarity in Appearance, the

    So Related Standard Comports with

    the Visual Nature of Designs and the

    Flexible Approach Advanced by KSR

    The Petitioners request for review is based on

    a single, flawed premise that the Court of Appeals

    framework for design patent obviousness analysis is

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    inconsistent with KSR. Petitioner argues that the

    so related test for combining prior art designs is

    too loose (Petitioner brief at 19-20), and does not

    sufficiently articulate a rational basis for selecting

    and combining features found in prior art design

    references.

    Respondent submits that the so related test

    provides exactly the explicit rational basis embraced

    byKSR,the overall thrust of which favors flexibility

    in obviousness analysis, rather than require a rigid

    detailed explanation. Petitioner calls for a degree of

    explanation for combining references that was

    rejected inKSR.

    Petitioner repeatedly states thatKSRrequires

    an explicit analysis regarding whether there was an

    apparent reason to combine the known elements in

    the fashion claimed by the patent. Petitioner alleges

    that the Court of Appeals longstanding so related

    test eliminates the requirement for a reason to

    combine references and allows courts to presume

    obviousness where elements of a claimed design are

    present in prior art references that are merely

    related.

    Petitioners arguments miss KSRsmark toensure that obviousness analysis is not confined by

    a formalistic conception. KSRat 402.

    To facilitate review on appeal, KSR does

    support an explicit statement of an apparent reason

    to combine known elements:

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    Often, it will be necessary for a court

    to look to interrelated teachings of

    multiple patents; the effects of

    demands known to the design

    community or present in the

    marketplace; and the backgroundknowledge possessed by a person

    having ordinary skill in the art, all in

    order to determine whether there was

    an apparent reason to combine the

    known elements in the fashion claimed

    by the patent at issue. To facilitate

    review, this analysis should be made

    explicit. See In re Kahn, 441 F.3d 977,

    988 (Fed. Cir. 2006) ([R]ejections on

    obviousness grounds cannot be

    sustained by mere conclusory

    statements; instead, there must be

    some articulated reasoning with some

    rational underpinning to support the

    legal conclusion of obviousness). As

    our precedents make clear, however,

    the analysis need not seek out precise

    teachings directed to the specific

    subject matter of the challenged claim,

    for a court can take account of the

    inferences and creative steps that aperson of ordinary skill in the art

    would employ. KSRat 418.

    Plainly, in stating this analysis should be

    made explicit KSR meant to make sure the record

    provides reasoning reviewable on appeal, and not

    simply a conclusory finding of obviousness without a

    clear, articulated basis for the finding. In full

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    context, explicit does not mandate an enunciation

    of why it would be obvious to select specific features

    and combine them in the particular manner claimed.

    KSR notes that in many fields, there is little

    discussion of obvious combinations. Id.at 419. Thisis exactly the case with designs.

    In the context of designs, the inferences and

    creative steps courts can take into account are

    subsumed in the analysis that results in a courts

    determination of whether or not the visual features

    in prior art references are so related that they may

    be combined.

    The Court of Appeals design patent

    obviousness framework provides the requisite

    articulation and underpinning, allowing the

    combination of visual design features from prior art

    references when a court reviews them and

    determines they are so related such that the

    appearance of ornamental features in one design

    would suggest their application to the other.

    A courts finding that two design references

    are so related to support a combination of their

    design features is not the mere conclusory statementwith which Kahn was concerned; it is a

    determination that follows from the type of analysis

    apposite for designs based on visual appearance,

    not extensive written descriptions as is the norm in

    utility patent obviousness analysis. A courts

    determination that references are visually so

    related meets KSRs goals in articulating the

    obviousness analysis.

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    In the case at bar, the Court of Appeals

    thoroughly applied the so related test and

    articulated its determination, noting not just

    common subject matter, but also a striking

    similarity in appearance among the prior art

    references that would have motivated a skilleddesigner to combine features from one with features

    of the other:

    After concluding that the Eagles

    jersey could be a primary reference,

    the district court determined that the

    V2 jersey and another reference

    known as the Sporty K9 jersey were

    so related to the primary reference

    that they could serve as secondary

    references that would motivate the

    skilled artisan to make the claimed

    design. MRC,921 F. Supp. 2d at 809.

    The district court found that both

    jerseys suggested the use of a V-neck

    pattern and non-mesh fabric on the

    side panelsthe first two differences

    described above. MRC argues that the

    district court erred by failing to

    explain why a skilled artisan wouldhave chosen to incorporate those

    features of the V2 and Sporty K9

    jerseys with the Eagles jersey.

    We disagree. It is true that [i]n order

    for secondary references to be

    considered, ... there must be some

    suggestion in the prior art to modify

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    would have motivated a skilled

    designer to combine features from one

    with features of another.

    MRC Innovations at 1334-35.

    This explicit articulation, based upon the

    appearance of the designs, memorializes the courts

    rationale to combine them. Requiring further

    specific explanation as to why a person of ordinary

    skill in the art would have incorporated some, but

    not all, features (Petitioners brief at 17) of the

    secondary references contradicts the flexible

    approach directed byKSR.

    The Petition falsely asserts that the so

    related test usurps obviousness for relatedness.

    (Petitioner brief at 20.) Relatedness in and of itself

    does not permit combination of prior art designs;

    whether designs are so related that they can be

    combined is based on a judgment of similarity in

    appearance, not merely a threshold similarity based

    on the type of underlying article.

    Petitioner calls for a detailed explanation for

    why the skilled designer would have found it obvious

    to make the particular selections of design featuresand combine them. Such detailed explanation is

    inconsistent with sound design patent jurisprudence,

    which generally recognizes that the appearance of

    the designs provide their own best description4, and

    pushes beyond the requirements of KSR for the

    purpose of review on appeal into the territory

    criticized by KSR as too narrow for analysis of the

    4SeeEgyptian Goddess, n. 3, supra.

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    obviousness inquiry. For these reasons, the Petition

    should be denied.

    3. The Alleged Far-Reaching Negative

    Effects of Denying Review are Illusory

    Petitioners argument that the Court of

    Appeals decision if allowed to stand will have far-

    reaching negative effects is also not a reason to

    grant the Petition. As noted above, the so related

    test first appeared shortly after the inception of the

    modern U.S. Patent Act, Glavas, supra, and it has

    been properly followed by the lower courts for more

    than sixty years, including in this case. Industries

    that obtain design patent protection have come to

    rely on this established, stable design patent

    obviousness framework.

    In its dire warning of purported negative

    effects, Petitioner simply recycles its central theme,

    arguing once again that under the present design

    patent obviousness standard too many design

    patents may be declared invalid because the courts

    are not required to provide an explicit analysis of

    whether there was a reason to combine the known

    elements in the fashion claimed by the patent. As

    noted above, this argument is without merit.

    Petitioner further contends that the so

    related test conflicts with this Courts prior case law

    regarding 35 U.S.C. 103, is unreasonable, and

    put[s] the validity of many issued design patents in

    jeopardy. (Petitioner brief at 6). It is unclear how

    the validity of issued patents is in jeopardy as a

    result of this test, given that it is the exact one

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    applied by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in

    analyzing obviousness before granting a patent. See

    the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure at

    1504.03 (The long-standing test for properly

    combining references has been ...whether they are so

    related that the appearance of certain ornamentalfeatures in one would suggest the application of

    those features to the other.). This test did not stop

    the issuance of the 488 Patent here because

    astonishingly Mr. Cohen failed to disclose his own

    prior art V2 and Eagles designs to the Patent Office.

    Petitioners suggestion that creating a more

    rigorous standard for combining references than the

    purportedly too loose test currently applied would

    avoid some unspecified negative effects should be

    read with caution, especially since no proof is offered

    as to how a reworked standard would ameliorate

    some unspecified future harm. Granting design

    patent protection for predictable design variations

    will not serve the fundamental purpose of the patent

    laws of fostering innovation.

    CONCLUSION

    Petitioners have not established any

    compelling reasons for this Court to grant thePetition. Accordingly, it is respectfully submitted

    that the Petition for Writ of Certiorari should be

    denied.

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    Respectfully submitted,

    Perry J. Saidman

    Counsel of Record

    SAIDMAN DESIGNLAW GROUP,LLC

    8601 Georgia Avenue, Suite 603Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

    Telephone: (301) 585-8601

    Facsimile: (301) 585-0138

    [email protected]

    Edward D. Manzo

    Mark J. Murphy

    HUSCH BLACKWELL LLP

    120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2200

    Chicago, Illinois 60606

    Telephone: (312) 655-1500

    Facsimile: (312) 655-1501

    [email protected]

    [email protected]

    Andrew D. Dorisio

    Trevor T. Graves

    KING &SCHICKLI,PLLC

    247 N. Broadway

    Lexington, Kentucky 40507

    Telephone: (859) 252-0889Facsimile: (859) 252-0779

    [email protected]

    [email protected]

    Counsel for Respondents