An inventor had a "wow" moment when he came across a
design improvement for cold-weather visors – something
suitable for the snowmobile helmet market. The helmet maker brought
the improved helmet to market and also pursued both patent and
industrial design protection. The patent application was ultimately
abandoned, but the industrial design registration was issued
in 2010 for the "Helmet Face
Shield" design, which purports to protect the visor portion of
a snowmobile helmet.
AFX Licensing, the owner of the invention, sued
a competitor for infringement of the registered
industrial design. AFX sought an injunction and damages
for infringement under the Industrial Design Act.
The competitor – HJC America – countered with an
application to expunge the registration on the basis of invalidity.
HJC argued that the design was invalid due to a lack of
originality and due to functionality.
