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Oddzon Products, Inc. v. Just Toys, Inc., Lisco, Inc. And Spalding & Evenflo Companies, Inc., Defendants/cross-Appellants
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (1997) | 122 F.3d 1396; 43 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1641; 1997 U.S. App. LEXIS 21109
TL;DR: A toy company sued a competitor over a finned football design. The court held the plaintiff's design patent was valid but not infringed, finding any similarity between the toys was based on functional, not ornamental, features. The case also established that privately-disclosed information can be prior art.
Legal Significance: This case established that non-public information derived from another person under 35 U.S.C. § 102(f) constitutes "prior art" that can be combined with other references to challenge a patent's validity for obviousness under § 103.