McAndrews Attorney Christopher V. Carani Partners with Wolters Kluwer to Release “Design Rights” Book Inspired by Apple and Samsung

09.11.17

Chicago, IL – September 11, 2017 – McAndrews, Held & Malloy is proud to announce that attorney Christopher V. Carani served as the editor in chief of a new first-in-kind book to help businesses better understand how to protect and enforce their designs against copycats and counterfeiters around the world. Since the landmark Apple v. Samsung patent case of 2012, the protection of designs has rapidly developed as a distinct and critical area of intellectual property law, important to overall business strategy.

The book, titled “Design Rights: Functionality and Scope of Protection,” was published by Wolters Kluwer.  It provides not only the foundational requirements for securing and protecting design rights in 27 key jurisdictions worldwide, but also a detailed country-by-country analysis of the contentious and critical issue of functionality (i.e., to what extent can the appearance of useful products, such as consumer electronics, automobile part or industrial machinery, be protected by design rights?) A copy of the book can be ordered here.

“Consumers’ appetites for appealing yet useful designs have reached an all-time high. It’s our responsibility as legal advisors to rise to the occasion and develop sensible policies and corresponding framework to help businesses address the functionality conundrum,” said Carani. “I’m honored to have served as editor of this book, and I hope it’s as much of a pleasure to read as it was to put together. The various contributors from the various jurisdictions around the globe represent the best of the best.”

Carani has closely studied design rights and the issue of functionality for the last 20 years, tracking both U.S. law and that of foreign jurisdictions. The book, which is nearly 700 pages, provides an in-depth analysis of the law of 27 key jurisdictions spanning 6 continents. Contributors from foreign jurisdictions were hand-picked by Carani based on their experience and knowledge about design rights in their respective jurisdiction. Each chapter includes case law examples, hypotheticals, and images to bring issues to life, and covers topics like:

  • Availability of design right protection, including substantive and procedural requirements
  • Strategies to mount, or fend off, challenges to the validity of design rights based on functionality
  • How to determine a design right’s scope of protection, including the treatment of any portions of the overall appearance that are old or functionally-driven.

“AIPPI recognizes the increasing importance of design protection and desire for harmonisation with respect to the scope of such protection of such rights. This book provides detailed information about the specific requirements for, and the scope of, design protection across a number of jurisdictions,” says Mr. Hao Ma, President of  AIPPI.  “AIPPI gives special thanks Christopher Carani as he continues to lead in the important work of international harmonisation of design law.”