Trade dress instruction to Jury seems to be in Apple's favor

Posted by TechStorm on August 10, 2012 10:51 am 13

Interim Instruction on Likelihood of Confusion for Trade Dress Infringement Claim was filed in Court on Thursday. The document provided a guideline on how the jury should go about evaluating Apple's claim of Trade Dress Infringement.

According to the document the Jury is instructed as follows:

One of Apple’s claims in this case is for trade dress infringement. Apple’s trade dress infringement claim will require you to resolve, among other things, whether Samsung’s Tab 10.1 is likely to cause confusion about the source of Samsung’s products. A likelihood of confusion is not required for the parties’ utility or design patent claims. There are two things I want to clarify about the "likelihood of confusion" requirement for trade dress infringement claims.

First, to prevail on its trade dress infringement claim, Apple must prove that Samsung’s Tab 10.1 is likely to cause confusion. Apple does not need to prove that there have been instances of actual confusion in the marketplace. In fact, actual confusion is not required for any claim in this case.

To view the full copy of the Instruction check here.