Event Detail

On Tuesday, July 22 at 2:00 pm, The Home Furnishings Business (HFB) is hosting their July webinar with a "design knockoff" theme. Womble Carlyle's Intellectual Property attorneys, Jack Hicks and Jake Wharton will present on:

Are You Selling a Design Knockoff? Get Ready to be Sued!
Regardless of whether a piece of furniture is designed or sourced in the U.S., China, Indonesia or Vietnam, the intellectual property laws of the United States can protect original designs against unauthorized manufacture, sale, importation and even use. Elements of furniture, combinations of elements, as well as the entire piece itself, can be protected through trademarks, trade dress, copyrights and/or patents. Years ago, a retailer who promoted a knockoff would not be sued by the manufacturer who originated the piece because that retailer might later become a customer of that manufacturer. Changes in vertical distribution and relationships, however, have lessoned the reluctance of many manufacturers from suing everyone involved with the knockoff, including the foreign manufacturer, the U.S. distributor and the retailer. Is the end user next? Manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers can protect themselves by ensuring that the "knockoff" they want to carry does not infringe upon any intellectual property rights, by seeking a supplier who will "stand behind" what they sell and by considering "Advertising Injury" commercial general liability insurance coverage.

Hicks, a registered patent attorney who regularly counsels clients in all areas of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret law, is active in the home furnishings industry and has lectured on furniture design protection to national and international bar associations, trade groups, university home furnishings classes and the US Patent and Trademark Office. In addition to his work with Womble Carlyle, Hicks is a board member of the suppliers division of the American Home Furnishings Alliance and serves as an adjunct professor at Elon University School of Law where he teaches intellectual property law. Wharton, a senior associate with Womble Carlyle and registered patent attorney, works to protect the intellectual property rights of clients in the furniture industry and defends against claims of infringement, which often include patent, trademark, trade dress, copyright, and trade secret matters.

Registration will be available soon by visiting http://www.hfbusiness.com/docs/webinars.bsp.