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"VOLUME 138 DECEMBER 2024 NUMBER 2
HARVARD LAW REVIEW
© 2024 by The Harvard Law Review Association
ARTICLES
THE COUNTERFEIT SHAM
Sarah Fackrell
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION................................................................................472
I. THE LAW....................................................................................... 475
A. The “Counterfeit” in U.S. IP Law ................................................ 475
B. The U.S. Design Patent .............................................................. 480
C. The (Limited) Overlap ................................................................. 486
II. THE COUNTERFEIT NARRATIVE IN DESIGN PATENT LAW & POLICY ................. 487
A. In Congress .............................................................................. 487
B. In Enforcement Actions. ............................................................490
C. Among Academics and Practitioners ....................................... 500
I
II. THE LEGAL & LOGICAL DISCONNECT ..................................... 502
A. Design Patent Infringement ≠Counterfeiting .......................... 503
B. There Is No Necessary Link Between Design Patents and Safety 514
IV. THE LARGER COUNTERFEIT NARRATIVE ................................ 517
A. We’ve Seen This Before ............................................................ 518
B. What’s Really Going On? ........................................................... 519
V. WHY COUNTERFEIT RHETORIC MATTERS .............................. 526
VI. LESSONS & IMPLICATIONS ..................................................... 529
A. Be Careful with the Word “Counterfeit” When Discussing Design Patents ............. 529
B. We Should Not Import the Term “Counterfeiting” into Design Patent Law ............ 529
CONCLUSION ................................................................................ 530
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