From Prada to iPad, Nest to Mophie, great design makes our lives more beautiful and productive. Yet design occupies an awkward place in the IP world. Channeling principles in copyright (such as the useful articles doctrine) and in trademark (such as the functionality bar and the requirement of source-designation)] suggest an intent to keep design’s practical elements in the public domain. These porous doctrinal borders remain highly contested and indeterminate. If effectively excluded from copyright and trademark, design would seem relegated to the narrow realm of the design patent. Yet is patent law truly the proper realm for the particular designs used in such diverse items as yoga pants, playing boards, or toy cars? If patent law does offer a viable alternative to trademark and copyright, is it striking the right balance of protection in terms of duration, scope, and threshold for protection? During this panel, we will host an exchange among professors, practitioners, and representatives from design-intensive industries about the past, present, and future of protecting—or not protecting—designs.
Business Meeting at Program Conclusion.