Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery. But When is Copying Okay? 12% Design Utility 9% 6% An Innocent Homage to a great artist … 3% brilliantly becomes “Chess with Mustaches” as a parody art by Scott Kildall and Bryan Cera as available to anyone on 0% Thingiverse to 3D print. 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 CHESS WITH MUSTACHES AND PARODY / KILDALL + CERA 3-year Rolling Average of Percentage of Change in Number of Design Patents vs Utility Patents Filed Design Patent application files have been increasing faster than utility patent applications. But utility patents generally outnumber design patents by eight times. DESIGN PATENTS USPTO D746029 Hermès Lions sneakers SAMSUNG V APPLE PATENT DISPUTE awarded December 29, 2015 via @thefashionlaw US Patent D618,677 laid a claim on the famous An idea I had twenty years ago has been used twice by Diesel, as In fashion, design patents have been common. Just “rounded corners” matter in a design patent in this newer Diesel Thalia Repeat Print Logo T-Shirt take a look at the law case where Louboutin won and dispute in 2012 between Apple and Samsung, via Polyvore you can know the stakes are high. winning Apple a nearly $1B jury award. Artists and designers have a history of copying each other (think evolution and gene mutations), but given the Apple vs Samsung (2012) case, the value of the appearance of a product/service is increasing. Source // @kpcb #DesignInTech @johnmaeda @kildall @BryanJCera @thefashionlaw @museummodernart @DIESEL @USPTO polyvore.com/diesel_tharia_repeat_print_logo/thing?id=1927688 fortune.com/2015/08/19/apple-patents-rounded-corners/ kildall.com/project/chess-with-mustaches/ thefashionlaw.com/home/herms-awarded-design-patent-for-sneakers moma.org/collection/artists/30299 uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/statistics usa.hermes.com/man/ shoes/sneakers/lions/configurable-product-z-menshoes-lions-79621.html 32