Perry Saidman was privileged to author an Amicus Curiae brief on behalf of Apple Inc. in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's en banc rehearing of Egyptian Goddess v. Swisa, which is clearly the most significant design patent case of the last century. In its en banc rehearing order, the Court directed the parties to brief issues that go to the very core of determining design patent infringement, including whether Markman claim construction should apply to design patents, and whether the "point of novelty" should be a test for design patent infringement. Almost two dozen Amicus Curiae briefs were filed, including on behalf of such organizations as the AIPLA, IPO, the Federal Circuit Bar Association, FICPI, and several major corporations, including Nike and Electrolux, as well as Apple. While no Court has before questioned the propriety of the "point of novelty" test, several years ago Mr. Saidman wrote a ground-breaking article ("The Death of Gorham Co. v. White: Killing It Softly with Markman", 86 Journal of The Patent and Trademark Office Society (JPTOS) 792, October, 2004) which first raised the Markman issue that apparently will finally be resolved in the Egyptian Goddess case. The entire design patent bar anxiously awaits this decision, which is scheduled for oral argument in front of the full Federal Circuit bench on June 2, 2008.

Full List of Amicus Curiae Briefs filed