As a community service, an educational series by the

IP and Business Law Offices of Howard L. Hoffenberg, Esq.

Copyright 2010 The IP and Business Law Offices of Howard L. Hoffenberg, Esq. All Rights Reserved.

Return to Index of Tour of US Supreme Court Patent Cases from 1961 to 1999

HOLDING: (1) The patent act pre-empts a state from: (i) prohibiting exploitation of publicly known, unpatented designs and utilitarian conceptions (ii) and prohibiting reverse engineering. (2) The protection granted a design under state unfair competition is limited to the context where consumer confusion is likely to result; the design "idea" itself may be freely exploited in all other contexts. (3)

States may regulate to protect trade secrets and in other ways that do not frustrate the patent laws.

BONITO BOATS,INC. v. THUNDER CRAFT BOATS, INC. 489 U.S. 141 (February 21, 1989)

 

FACTS: Defendant contended that a statute by Florida prohibiting the use of a direct molding process to duplicate a vessel hull was preempted by the Patent Act.

Tour of US Supreme Court Patent Cases from 1961 to 1999

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A Fast and Easy Way to Learn the High Points of Patent Law and Related Anti-trust Law

Community Service and

Pro Bono

In addition to this education series, Mr. Hoffenberg gives of his time to benefit the community and contribute to the quality justice in the State of California. For many years, he served as a volunteer pro tem in the Municipal Court in traffic, landlord-tenant, small claims and short cause matters. Currently, Mr. Hoffenberg serves as a volunteer arbitrator for the Dispute Resolution Service in attorney-client fee disputes and as a quasi-volunteer mediator in the Court of Appeals.