Brands Update. March 2015

DESIGNS: Old new means of fighting against patent trolls

The most recent court practice in disputes with bad faith owners of design patents is not setting in favor of the latter. Now bona fide rights holders and importers have an additional powerful legal tool for fighting against 'patent trolls'. Such court practice may have a positive effect on further practices of and approaches to combating this unfair practice.

Background

In 2013-1014, some individuals obtained design patents for trivial designs of rubber gloves, household scrapers, and clothes-pegs. Later IP rights in the designs were assigned to a Chinese company, which, in its turn, recorded the designs with the Customs Register of IP Rights.