Products & Strategies for Consumer Technology Retailing
It's a Hard Knock Life: The Perils of Design Knockoffs
July 22, 2008
• Presented By: Home Furnishings Business
• Duration: One hour
• Speakers: Jack Hicks, Patent Attorney, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice
• Moderator: Sheila Long O’Mara, Editor in Chief, Home Furnishings Business
• View this Webinar
Are You Selling a Design Knockoff? Get Ready to Be Sued!
Product knockoffs continue to run rampant through the furniture industry. In this information-packed webinar, join Home Furnishings Business and patent attorney Jack Hicks to learn everything you need to know about:
* Where the industry is with design patents
* Plans for strengthening the enforcement of patent infringement
* Potential liability for retailers who floor and sell products deemed to be copied designs
* Minefields retailers may need to dodge when bringing in private label goods
Regardless of whether a piece of furniture is designed or sourced in the U.S., China, Indonesia or Vietnam, the intellectual property laws of the United States can protect original designs against unauthorized manufacture, sale, importation and even use. Elements of furniture, combinations of elements, as well as the entire piece itself, can be protected through trademarks, trade dress, copyrights and/or patents. Years ago, a retailer who promoted a knockoff would not be sued by the manufacturer who originated the piece because that retailer might later become a customer of that manufacturer. Changes in vertical distribution and relationships, however, have lessened the reluctance of many manufacturers from suing everyone involved with the knockoff, including the foreign manufacturer, the U.S. distributor and the retailer. Is the end user next? Manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers can protect themselves by ensuring that the “knockoff” they want to carry does not infringe upon any intellectual property rights, by seeking a supplier who will “stand behind” what they sell and by considering “Advertising Injury” commercial general liability insurance coverage.
To view for this Webinar, click here.
• Duration: One hour
• Speakers: Jack Hicks, Patent Attorney, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice
• Moderator: Sheila Long O’Mara, Editor in Chief, Home Furnishings Business
• View this Webinar
Are You Selling a Design Knockoff? Get Ready to Be Sued!
Product knockoffs continue to run rampant through the furniture industry. In this information-packed webinar, join Home Furnishings Business and patent attorney Jack Hicks to learn everything you need to know about:
* Where the industry is with design patents
* Plans for strengthening the enforcement of patent infringement
* Potential liability for retailers who floor and sell products deemed to be copied designs
* Minefields retailers may need to dodge when bringing in private label goods
Regardless of whether a piece of furniture is designed or sourced in the U.S., China, Indonesia or Vietnam, the intellectual property laws of the United States can protect original designs against unauthorized manufacture, sale, importation and even use. Elements of furniture, combinations of elements, as well as the entire piece itself, can be protected through trademarks, trade dress, copyrights and/or patents. Years ago, a retailer who promoted a knockoff would not be sued by the manufacturer who originated the piece because that retailer might later become a customer of that manufacturer. Changes in vertical distribution and relationships, however, have lessened the reluctance of many manufacturers from suing everyone involved with the knockoff, including the foreign manufacturer, the U.S. distributor and the retailer. Is the end user next? Manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers can protect themselves by ensuring that the “knockoff” they want to carry does not infringe upon any intellectual property rights, by seeking a supplier who will “stand behind” what they sell and by considering “Advertising Injury” commercial general liability insurance coverage.
To view for this Webinar, click here.
