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June 13, 2008
Display Package
Design
patents seem like a little brother to utility patents, all form and no
substance. But aesthetics spin money. Even the presentation of a product can
help it jump off the shelf and make the cash register ring. So
Monster Cable, which packs its cables
into a tidy product display, understandably complained that
Timex has copied its display package to retail kids' watches.
Monster filed against Timex in the Eastern District of Texas for infringing D466,405. From the complaint:
Watches sold by Timex, and particularly watches sold under the "Timex Kids" brand use packaging that is insubstantially different from Monster's own patented packaging.
By selling watches in packages that copy or embody Monster's unique design, Timex Corporation has misappropriated Monster's trade dress and falsely represented the origin of the relevant products, among other things, in violation of Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act.
Monster claims willful infringement.
The suit ends in one word: settlement.
Posted by Patent Hawk at June 13, 2008 1:08 PM | Design Patents