McAndrews’ Christopher V. Carani to Discuss Design Law at Washington State Patent Law Association CLE Event

09.03.15

McAndrews, Held & Malloy Shareholder Christopher V. Carani, a leading authority in the field of design law, was invited by the Washington State Patent Law Association (WSPLA) to lead its CLE course on design rights on September 16, 2015 in Seattle, Washington.

During the event, Carani will discuss recent developments in U.S. design patent jurisprudence, and strategies to secure enforceable and sustainable design rights that further clients’ business goals. Specifically, he’ll discuss the design patent infringement test, design patent claim construction, the ins and outs of design patent drawings, design patent defenses of prosecution history estoppel, anticipation, obviousness and indefiniteness. Carani also will offer insights and strategies for cases involving both trade dress and design patent infringement claims.

To register, click here.

The WSPLA is the leading organization for patent attorneys and other patent professionals in the state of Washington, providing a forum for patent and other intellectual property law issues, and serving as a valuable resource for patent attorneys, agents, educators, students, and owners of intellectual property.

For more information, visit https://www.wspla.org/

Christopher V. Carani, Esq. is a leading voice and internationally recognized in the field of Design IP (design patents, trade dress and copyrights), having litigated numerous design disputes, and published and lectured extensively on the topic. He represents some of the world’s most design centric companies, including the top filer of U.S. design patents. He counsels a wide range of clients on strategic design protection and enforcement issues, often called upon to render infringement, validity and design-around opinions.  Carani has worked with clients securing over 2,000 design rights, both in the U.S and in over 70 countries around the world. He is the current chair of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property Design Rights Committee and 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, 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. Swisa, Lawman Armor Corp. v. Winner Int’l LLC, Calmar, 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 an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Northwestern University School of Law teaching intellectual property law. He 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.

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