One of the findings of the Federal Appeals court on Monday in the Apple vs Samsung affair, was that "trade dress" doesn't matter if some element of it has actual functionality.
According to CNN Money:
Patent law states that designs can be only be protected if they serve a non-functional purpose. Think about the placement of logos. The court said the shape of the iPhone, on the other hand, is functional. Specifically, the appeals court found the iPhone's rectangular body, with its rounded edges, improves how easy it is for people to slip the phone in and out of pockets. The shape also improves the durability of the device.
You would expect this would be an end of years of Rounded Corners jokes. But somehow, I suspect this will become an internet meme that will be with us for decades.
The story goes on to point out that not only is the trade dress tossed out, even the bulk of the penalty for other infringements, (calculated by a jury, apparently out of thin air) will have to be re-adjudicated by another jury.
(Score: 3, Informative) by stormreaver on Thursday May 21 2015, @03:07AM
Apple still claimed that their design was somehow unique even though it was cribbed from the state DOT and they still suckered a jury into going along with it.
If I remember correctly, the Jury was going to rule for Samsung until the jury foreman overstepped his bounds and started testifying to the remaining jury members while they were in the jury room. The jury foreman had his own stupid design patents, carried a long-standing grudge against Samsung, and wanted to set a precedent about design patents while damaging Samsung as much as possible.
The foreman saw his self-serving plans falling apart in the jury room, so he stepped up his Apple propaganda to sway the other jury members. And it worked.
The entire trial was a farce, and the presiding judge was a caricature way out of her depth.