Saidman DesignLaw Group

Perry Saidman - Principal

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Perry Saidman is a pioneer in the field of design law, successfully representing clients in ground-breaking cases that have established the enforceability of design patents in court, cases such as Avia Group Int'l. v. LA Gear where the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a summary judgment holding that two design patents on tennis shoes were valid and willfully infringed, entitling the design patent owner to increased damages and attorney fees.

Today, he is perhaps the leading advocate for design patents in the United States. Most recently, he authored an Amicus Curiae Brief on behalf of Apple Inc., in the seminal design patent infringement case of Egyptian Goddess v. Swisa that was decided en banc by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in September, 2008. The Apple brief was the only amicus curiae brief referenced by the Court in its opinion. Mr. Saidman recently published "Egyptian Goddess Exposed! But Not in the Buff(er)" in the Journal of the Patent and Trademark Office Society (20 JPTOS 859 (Dec. 2008)), and has lectured extensively about the case.

In 1990, Perry founded SAIDMAN DesignLaw Group, the first and most successful U.S. law firm to specialize in the patenting of designs. Relying on a team of skilled specialists, the firm develops and implements design protection and enforcement strategies for clients. Perry's extensive consultancy work, as an expert witness, lecturer and author of numerous publications, has helped the firm build a knowledge bank in design law that is unparalleled. During his career Perry has prepared, prosecuted and supervised thousands of U.S. design patents, and as a result has established close working relationships with many of the USPTO Design Patent Examiners. These relationships greatly facilitate the design patent applications handled by the firm on behalf of its clients.

Perry has served as a consultant and expert witness in dozens of design patent and trade dress/product configuration cases, and is a popular keynote speaker both in the U.S. and abroad. Perry and the Firm have also successfully prosecuted and enforced numerous design copyrights - relatively inexpensive and valuable components of any well-rounded design porfolio.

Well-known in legal and design circles as a leader in the field, Perry was the founder and first chair of the Industrial Design Committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Associations (AIPLA), and is the founder and co-chair of the Design Protection Committee of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA). He also contributes to similar committees in the American Bar Association (ABA), Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), and the International Trademark Association (INTA). Past audiences have included the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the AIPLA and the Japan Design Protection Association, as well as numerous state bar associations (e.g., California, Texas, Ohio, NY, Florida).

 

Career Highlights:

  • 1988, Represented successful plaintiff/patentee at trial level and on appeal in Avia Group International v. L.A. Gear California, Inc., 853 F.2d 1557, 7 USPQ2d 1548 (Fed. Cir. 1988). The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the lower court's findings of validity, willful infringement and attorney fees based upon two design patents, all on a motion for summary judgment. This case established designs patents as valuable components of an intellectual property portfolio.

  • 1989, Keynote speaker and panel discussion leader at the First National Conference on Industrial Design Law & Practice held in Baltimore, Maryland.

  • 1990, Visited Tokyo, Japan, to give full day seminars on U.S. Design Law at invitation of the Japan Design Protection Association and officials of the Japan Patent Office.

  • 1990, founded SAIDMAN DesignLaw Group as a solo practitioner

  • 1991, accepted first expert witness case

  • 1991, first published The Basic Tools of Design Protection in booklet form, sold thousands of copies

  • 1996, published seminal paper "Design Patentees: Don't Get Unglued by Elmer or The Single Most Important Thing to Know About The Preparation of Design Patent Applications", a guide to obtaining broad design patent protection.

  • 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2004 - Speaker at All Ohio Annual Institute on Intellectual Property in Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio; has also spoken before Intellectual Property Section of Michigan State Bar Association, Intellectual Property Section of Texas State Bar, New York Intellectual Property Law Association, and New York State Bar Association, Intellectual Property Law Section.

  • 1999 - 40-hour mediation training by Center for Mediation in Law in New York, who also train mediators for WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation).

  • 2001 - first paper published in Japanese: Kan TrafFix Kops Katch the Karavan Kopy Kats? -or- Beyond Functionality: Design Patents are the Key to Unlocking the Trade Dress/Patent Conundrum.

  • 2004, prepared an Amicus Curiae Brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) in a design patent case. Link to News Item titled "Saidman Files Amicus Brief on Behalf of IDSA"

 

Admitted:

  • 2002, U.S. Supreme Court

  • 1982, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

  • 1975, U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals

  • 1974, Washington, DC

  • 1973, Maryland

  • 1971, Registered to practice before U.S. Patent & Trademark Office

 

Education:

  • 1973, George Washington University, J.D., (with honors)

  • 1968, University of Pennsylvania, M.S.E. (Ford Foundation Fellowship)

  • 1967, George Washington University, B.S.E.E. (4-Year Trustee Scholarship)

 

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