Last March, the District Court for the Northern District of California entered a final judgment in the Apple v. Samsung saga, awarding Apple almost $930 Million in damages for Samsung’s infringement of Apple’s trade dress, both registered and unregistered, and design and utility patents. After several appeals, the Federal Circuit announced that Apple’s trade dress is functional and remanded to the District Court for entry of final judgment on damages only pertaining to the various patent infringements.
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Guitar Maker Gibson Loses Bid to Trademark Body Shape of “Flying V” in Europe
Gibson originally introduced its “Flying V” Guitar shape in 1958, but waitied until 2010 to file an application in the European Union Intellectual Property Office to protect the iconic shape as trade dress. A German guitar manufacturer challenged Gibson’s exclusive right to the guitar shape. After nine years and two appeals, a panel of three judges sitting on the the European Union General Court has determined that, while the shape may have been very original when it was originally released, the current presence on the market of a number of similar shapes makes it unlikely that consumers will regard one particular shape as belonging to a specific manufacturer. The General Court made this finding despite Gibson’s submission of survey evidence in eight European Union countries.