From Spoons to Smartphones: McAndrews Shareholder Christopher V. Carani to Present on Strategic Considerations for Product Design at The Industrial Designers Society of America Conference

04.10.14

McAndrews, Held & Malloy Sponsors Conference that Focuses on Industrial Evolution

McAndrews, Held & Malloy shareholder and leading design patent attorney Christopher V. Carani will speak at the Industrial Designers Society of America’s Midwest District Design Conference in Chicago on April 26. Carani’s presentation, titled “Industrial (Design) Revolution: From Spoons to Smartphones: Strategic Considerations for Product Design IP Protection and Enforcement,” will cover cutting-edge concepts for protecting not only traditional industrial design, but also graphic user interfaces and icons. McAndrews, Held & Malloy is also a sponsor at this year’s event.

The one-day conference allows for design professionals, students, educators and business professionals to explore how design is changing to meet expanding demands and take advantage of new opportunities; network and share ideas; and learn about the future of design from subject matter experts, design leaders and visionaries. This year’s line-up of speakers also includes:

  • Dan Brown, President, LoggerHead Tools LLC; Associate Professor, Segal Design Institute, Northwestern University, McCormick School of Engineering Session Title: The Evolution of the Bionic Wrench
  • John Edson, IDSA, President LUNAR Session Title: There and Back Again: Technology Takes Us to Our Roots
  • Dickon Isaacs, Motorola Mobility Session Title: Design: Then, Now, Future
  • Anoji Mathew, Assistant Professor, IIT Institute of Design Session Title: Synthetic Economies: Future Playgrounds of Politics, Business and Human Interaction
  • Victoria Matranga, H/IDSA, Design Programs + Services, International Housewares Association Session Title: Chicago Designs America: Telling the Untold Story
  • David Roland, Senior Director, Global Design Spectrum Brands Session Title: Emerging Engagement
  • Bryce G. Rutter PhD, IDSA, Founder & CEO, Metaphase Design Group, Inc. Session Title: Consumer Evolution

Christopher V. Carani, Esq., counsels clients on a wide range of strategic design protection and enforcement issues. He is the immediate past Chair of the American Bar Association’s Design Rights Committee, and the past chair of the American Intellectual Property Law Association’s Committee on Industrial Designs. He has litigated numerous disputes regarding design rights and has served as a legal consultant and expert witness in design law cases in a wide-range of industries, including consumer electronics and accessories, consumer retail products, furniture, medical devices, apparel and footwear, and sporting goods, to name a few.  In addition, Carani has authored amicus briefs for landmark U.S. design patent cases, such as Egyptian Goddess v. SwisaLawman Armor Corp. v. Winner Int’l LLCCalmar, Inc. v. Arminak & Assoc. and Richardson v. Stanley Works, Inc.

Carani earned an engineering degree from Marquette University and a law degree from the University of Chicago, and went on to serve as a law clerk to the Honorable Rebecca Pallmeyer at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He is a registered patent attorney and licensed to practice before the USPTO.

Carani is a frequent contributor to CNN on intellectual property law issues, and is often called upon to provide commentary to other major media outlets, including New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, NPR, PBS TV, CNBC TV, BBC, Bloomberg TV, and Reuters.  Away from the law, Chris is a studied jazz musician who plays upright bass on the Chicago jazz circuit.

Follow Carani (@ccarani) on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ccarani.