Intellectual Property

Case

Types of Intellectual Property

* Patent

o Strap

o Ladder Design

 Lightweight

 Nested Rungs

 Webbing

* Copyright

o Photograph on Packaging (entire packaging with the exception of the brand name)

There could also be consideration of a trade secret. Although Kidde reverse engineered the design of the ladder, there were additional details they gained by getting access to the patent, which was not yet publicly available. X-IT provided the patent information to a third party with the understanding that it would be kept confidential.

For each of the IP listed above, Kidde knowingly replicated X-IT's product design even using the same packaging, including the photograph depicting a family member. Once the patent was approved, X-IT would have legal claims to all of these patent infringements. The photograph was later eliminated from the packaging, however it supports X-IT's claim that Kidde replicated it's product. X-IT's claim would be supported by the fact that Kidde was planning a potential purchase of X-IT (the company and/or product design), but used deception to copy the X-IT design on the side while dealings were still underway. Once Kidde knew the design could be copied, they again used deception to obtain a yet confidential, not publicly available patent design in order to reduce probability of infringement claims. Once these deceptions were achieved and the product came to fruition, X-IT was no longer needed and the potential buy-out evaporated. In addition, Kidde's brand recognition made them a superior competitor and X-IT suffered significantly.

Types of Patents Possible Infringement (Kidde)

Utility Patent

* Flame-resistant webbing Utility Patent

* Flame-resistant webbing: Kidde's was the same as X-IT

Design Patent

* Nested rung design

* Size/Weight of product

* Strap that held product together Design Patent

* Nested rung design: Kidde's was the same as X-IT

* Size/Weight of product: Kidde's was the same as X-IT

* Strap that held product together: Not the same, but only altered after seeing the unavailable patent protecting this feature.

Kidde knowingly replicated a soon-to-be patented product design primarily through reverse engineering. Kidde admitted the X-IT ladder was of superior design.

Readings

"Discovering New Values in Intellectual Property"

The authors focus on patents because they are the most tangible of intellectual protection. According to the authors, patents provide the strongest legal protection and the greatest value to a company by increasing business success (providing a market advantage). Also, patent databases provide a wealth