Opinion ID: 788136
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Application of the Standard to the Evidence Presented

Text: 25 In this case, the district court was required to determine whether Collezione established facts supported by clear and convincing evidence that the furniture designs displayed at Pre-Market met both the ordinary observer and point of novelty tests. It is unclear from the district court's opinion whether both of these tests were correctly applied. The district court found that the patented designs were in public use at Pre-Market because SKUs which correspond to four of the patents were included on the Pre-Market Wish List, and because comments on three of these four SKUs appeared on the Pre-Market Wrap-Up. Bernhardt, 280 F.Supp.2d at 494. While the court concluded that each of Bernhardt's furniture pieces corresponding to each SKU were similar to the furniture design shown in each of Bernhard's design patents, id., the analysis does not discuss or explain whether the furniture designs actually displayed at Pre-Market were substantially similar in appearance in the eyes of an ordinary observer to the claimed designs or appropriated the points of novelty of the patented designs. Only after making these determinations could the district court properly assess whether an invalidating public use within the scope of § 102(b) had occurred. The fact that the exhibited designs were Bernhardt's own designs does not diminish the analysis required by the district court and did not obviate Collezione's burden to prove that the designs were covered by the claims, meaning not only similar in appearance to the ordinary observer but also embodying the points of novelty.