High Point Design LLC v. Buyers Direct, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
730 F.3d 1301 (Fed. Cir. 2013)
Buyers Direct (BDI) (defendant) held a design patent on its "SNOOZIES" slippers, and High Point Design (plaintiff), maker of competing "FUZZY BABAS" slippers, sought a declaratory judgment that BDI's patent was invalid. The district court, describing BDI's design merely as "slippers with an opening for a foot that can contain a fuzzy (fleece) lining and have a smooth outer surface," found prior Woolrich slippers looked indistinguishable from SNOOZIES and granted High Point summary judgment on obviousness grounds, evaluating the design from an ordinary observer's viewpoint; BDI appealed.
Whether a design patent is invalid as obvious under 35 U.S.C. section 103(a) if the design would have been obvious to a designer of ordinary skill in the relevant field.