Tag: functionality
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Range of Motion v. Armaid: Federal Circuit Declines to Rework Judge-Jury Roles in Design Patent Infringement
The Federal Circuit’s August 11, 2026 order denying panel rehearing and rehearing en banc in Range of Motion Products, LLC v. Armaid Company Inc., Case No. 23-2427 (Fed. Cir. August 11, 2026), leaves intact a precedential design patent decision that gives judges significant responsibility at two stages of infringement litigation. Courts may construe a design…
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Range of Motion Prods v. Armaid: Narrow Design Patent Scope and the Growing Role of “Plainly Dissimilar”
On February 2, 2026, the Federal Circuit affirmed summary judgment of non-infringement in Range of Motion Products, LLC v. Armaid Company Inc., No. 23-2427, reinforcing two increasingly important themes in design patent litigation: (1) aggressive narrowing of design patent scope through functionality-based claim construction, and (2) the continued willingness of courts to resolve infringement at…
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Functionality and Trademark Law: The Federal Circuit’s Decision in CeramTec GmbH v. CoorsTek Bioceramics LLC
In a significant ruling on the intersection of patent and trademark law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently upheld the cancellation of CeramTec GmbH’s trademarks for the pink color of ceramic hip components. The court affirmed the decision of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), finding that the color pink…