In a recent Sixth Circuit opinion for Varsity Brands, Inc v Star Athletica, LLC, a different approach to copyrights was seen for the first time – design can be separated from the utilitarian aspects of a work. This is the first time that a court has adopted such ruling in terms of separating the two within a copyright.
One of the most interesting aspects of the opinion can be found on page 17 citing, “the Copyright Act protects the ‘pictorial, graphic, or sculptural features’ of a design of a useful article even if those features cannot be removed physically from the useful article, as long as they are conceptually separable from the utilitarian aspects of the article”.
To read the full opinion, CLICK HERE.
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