Persuading the Supreme Court to review a decision is normally a long shot. Even when many pundits predict certiorari, it often doesn't materialize (case in point: Oracle v. Google). In recent years, however, patent law has relatively frequently received the attention of the top U.S. court, which some attribute to the Federal Circuit's exceedingly patentee-friendly approach. "Recent years" does not include design patents, however: the last time the Supreme Court of the United States handed an opinion on a design patent dispute was more than 120 years ago. Is it going to happen now? I have a gut feeling that the answer is yes.Of course, no one can know what the court will decide. But it's hard to think of a case about design patents that would be more likely than Apple v. Samsung to be of interest to the Supreme Court:It's the perfect case for a decision on how to apply § 289 (disgorgement of infringer's profits) to today's…
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