NEW CHARTER MEMBER JOINS THE DESIGN REGISTRATION LEAGUE

Robert Anders Becomes Member

The Design Registration League is very pleased to announce that noted designer and expert witness Robert Anders has become an individual charter member

Bob has more than 30 years of experience as an industrial designer and design manager for the U.S. Government, consultant design firms, as owner of design consultancies and as head of corporate design for Bristol-Myers and head of Revlon’s POP Display department. As a professor at Pratt Institute, he taught both graduate and undergraduate courses in industrial design, and served as Acting Associate Dean of the School of Art & Design. For the past 17 years, he has worked as an expert witness in industrial design in 64 intellectual property cases involving design and utility patents, trademarks and trade dress. He has also been retained in 100 product liability and copyright cases, involving consumer products, furniture, packaging and retail display design. Bob is a member of the Industrial Designers Society of America and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

The DRL is very proud that an individual such as Prof. Anders, having intimate knowledge of intellectual property rights protecting industrial designs, has answered our call to support the enactment of a modern, 21^st century design protection law in the United States.

We wish to thank Bob for his vote of confidence and support, and encourage other like-minded individuals and companies to join the effort. See www.protectdesigns.org.

Perry J. Saidman
Executive Director

The Design Registration League

phone: 202-236-0753
email: perry.saidman@protectdesigns.org

NEW CHARTER MEMBER JOINS THE DESIGN REGISTRATION LEAGUE

The Design Registration League is very pleased to announce that Umbra, LLC has become a charter member.

Childhood friends, Paul Rowan and Les Mandelbaum, founded Umbra in 1979 in order to provide casual, contemporary, and affordable designs for the home (www.umbra.com). Their novel products are available at over 25,000 retailers in more than 75 countries, including picture frames, garbage cans, window treatments, kitchenware, bathroom accessories, decorative hardware and furniture.

The DRL is very proud that a company dedicated to advancing good design has answered our call to support the enactment of a modern, 21^st century design protection law in the United States.

We wish to thank the Umbra for its vote of confidence and support.

The Crisis in the Law of Designs

The Crisis in the Law of Designs is the title of Perry Saidman’s latest article that was published in vol. 89 of the Journal of the Patent & Trademark Office Society, April, 2007, pp. 301-338. This article explains the causes of this crisis, and provides a suggestion for turning the tide towards better design protection. More particularly, Section I describes the problems with attempts to protect industrial designs through trade dress and copyright laws. Section II expounds on how recent design patent decisions, and some long-standing problems, have made this once useful option problematic at best. Section III resurrects a long-forgotten legal reform that provides a design protection system that actually makes sense in the 21^st century.

If you would like a copy of this article, please go to the “Contact Us” page of www.protectdesigns.org and give us your email address with the comment “Crisis” and we will be glad to email it to you or e-mail: drl@protectdesigns.org

IDSA BECOMES FIRST CHARTER MEMBER OF THE DESIGN REGISTRATION LEAGUE

The Design Registration League is very pleased to announce that our first charter member is The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA).

The IDSA was founded over forty years ago in order to serve as a voice for the industrial design profession (www.idsa.org). Now, with over 3,300 members, IDSA continues its mission of advancing industrial design by signing on as a charter member of the Design Registration League.

The DRL is very proud that our country’s leading organization of industrial designers was the first to answer our call for companies and associations to support the enactment of a modern, 21^st century design protection law in the United States.

We wish to thank the IDSA for its vote of confidence and support.

Perry J. Saidman
Executive Director

The Design Registration League

8601 Georgia Avenue, Suite 603
Silver Spring, MD 20910
tel: 202-236-0753

e-mail: drl@protectdesigns.org

NEW CHARTER MEMBER JOINS THE DESIGN REGISTRATION LEAGUE

The Design Registration League is very pleased to announce that Design Ideas, Ltd. of Springfield, Illinois has joined as a charter member in the effort to pass a new sui generis law to protect industrial designs quicklyPublish Post, inexpensively, and effectively.

Design Ideas creates functional, fashion-forward, and moderately priced home and office accessories that appeal to a broad range of design-conscious consumers (www.designid.com). The company designs, manufactures and globally markets more than 1,500 innovative and affordable products for the home and office under the slogan, “We make things interesting.”

The DRL is very proud that Design Ideas has joined our call for the enactment of a modern, 21^st century design protection law in the United States.

We wish to thank Design Ideas for its vote of confidence and support, and invite other like-minded companies and associations to join as well. For more information, see www.protectdesigns.org.

Perry J. Saidman
Executive Director

The Design Registration League

8601 Georgia Avenue, Suite 603
Silver Spring, MD 20910
tel: 202-236-0753

e-mail: drl@protectdesigns.org