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10/15/2007
McAndrews, Held & Malloy Secures Favorable Settlement for Design Firm The Jane A. Sassaman Co.
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Dispute Points to New Strategies for Protecting Design IP
CHICAGO, IL – Oct. 15, 2007 – McAndrews, Held & Malloy announced today it has secured a favorable settlement for its client The Jane A. Sassaman Co., LLC (“JAS”) design firm in a copyright infringement dispute against Wynn Resorts Holdings, LLC, and its parent company, Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ: WYNN). JAS founder Jane A. Sassaman is internationally recognized as a leading textile artist.
The dispute concerned JAS' copyrighted fabric pattern “Color Garden” (U.S. Copyright Registration No. VA 1354487). Prior to its grand opening, the Wynn Las Vegas hotel, owned and operated by Wynn Resorts, ordered and subsequently installed in its “Parasol Up Lounge” carpeting that JAS claimed had utilized a design substantially similar to JAS' copyrighted “Color Garden” fabric pattern.
“Intellectual property is the life-blood of designers like JAS,” said Christopher V. Carani, lead counsel and a partner at McAndrews. “Although there are peculiarities in the law, we see growing opportunities for design companies to protect designs using a strategic combination of design patents, copyrights and trade dress.”
Sassaman’s designs have been shown in many national and international art quilt exhibits including Quilt National, 1989 through 2005. Sassaman’s designs also have been featured in Surface Design Journal, Quilter’s Newsletter, Better Homes & Gardens, American Patchwork & Quilting and Fabric Trends magazine, and on HDTV's popular TV show “Simply Quilts.” JAS is based in Chicago, Illinois.
“Our fabric pattern designs are crucial to our business, and this settlement recognizes the importance of JAS’ intellectual property rights in these works of art,” said JAS representative and partner Dan Ganter. “The strategies of the McAndrews team led to this very favorable outcome, and their work has once again helped secure and protect our company’s intellectual property.”
In 2006, McAndrews represented JAS in a copyright infringement dispute against Victoria's Secret. That dispute, which resulted in a favorable settlement for JAS, involved the JAS copyrighted fabric pattern “Big Leaves” (U.S. Copyright Registration No. VA1301548). The pattern was used in Victoria's Secret swimwear.
McAndrews attorneys Christopher V. Carani and Wilhelm L. Rao represented JAS.
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About McAndrews, Held & Malloy
Founded in 1988, McAndrews, Held & Malloy is one of the nation’s preeminent legal resources on intellectual property, antitrust and technology matters, serving institutions ranging from major multinationals and start-ups to world-class colleges and universities. The firm’s technically trained attorneys have built an unparalleled record of litigation successes in jury trials, bench trials and ADR proceedings. In addition, McAndrews, Held & Malloy offers its clients services in the following areas: patent and trademark procurement and portfolio management, patent interferences, trademark oppositions and cancellations, international practice, intellectual property/technology opinions and investigations, due diligence and M&A support, technology licensing and joint ventures, and technology transfers and donations. Additional information can be found at http://www.mcandrews-ip.com.
CONTACT: Randy Labuzinski / David Schulte Healy & Schulte 312/440-3900 rlabuzinski@healyandschulte.com
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