Design Patent Attorney

Christopher V. Carani

Partner
McAndrews, Held & Malloy
Email. ccarani@mcandrews-ip.com
Tel. (312) 775-8000

Practice Areas
Intellectual Property Litigation; Patent and Trademark Procurement, Protection and Portfolio Management; Intellectual Property Licensing; Industrial Design (design patents, trade dress, copyrights); Design Patent Litigation; Intellectual Property Opinions and Investigations; Anti-piracy/anti-counterfeiting solutions.

Education
University of Chicago, J.D.
Marquette University, B.S.

Bar Admissions
Member of the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Admitted to practice in Illinois.

Professional Experience
Christopher V. Carani is a partner at McAndrews, Held & Malloy, where he has been since 1995. Chris has garnered the requisite litigation experience needed to succeed in this fast-paced, complex field. Chris focuses on advising companies of any size, with special emphasis on securing and enforcing intellectual property rights (patent, trademark and copyright). Through his practice, Chris has gained significant experience counseling clients in a wide-range of industries, including the following: (alphabetical order) apparel, accessories and footwear, automotive accessories, baby/children’s products, beauty/hair care, bottle design, candies and confectionaries, cell phones and accessories, computers and computer accessories, computer software, consumer electronics and accessories, consumer retail products, cutlery, dental equipment, eyecare and eyewear, fabric design, fashion design, financial services, furniture, gaming, hardware and tools, home furnishings and house wares, industrial machinery, insurance services, jewelry, lawn and garden, lighting (indoor/outdoor), medical devices, music composition, musical instruments and accessories, non-woven fabrics, novelty items, packaging, refractometers, restaurant and beverage industry, safety devices, sporting goods and athletic equipment, toys and games, and visual arts.

Chris is nationally recognized expert in the field of design law, which regards the protection and enforcement of product design through the use of copyrights, trade dress and design patents. He has successfully litigated numerous disputes regarding design rights. He has also served as a consultant and expert witness in numerous design law cases. Chris’s recent publication, “The New ‘Extra-Ordinary’ Observer Test for Design Patent Infringement,” which regards the law of design patent infringement, was selected as one of the 20 best law review articles of 2009 for inclusion in the Thompson Reuters (West) Patent Law Review 2010. Chris represented the American Intellectual Property Law Association in the landmark design patent case Egyptian Goddess v. Swisa, where the positions set forth in his amicus briefs were ultimately adopted by the Federal Circuit having reshaped the law on design patents.

Chris graduated from the University of Chicago Law School. During his studies there, Chris focused his efforts on intellectual property and antitrust law. Between his second and third year of law school, Chris also completed studies at the Universitá di Siena, in Siena, Italy. Prior to attending law school, Chris earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (minor in Mathematics) from Marquette University.

Chris honed his litigation skills during his appointment as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Rebecca R. Pallmeyer, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. While working for Judge Pallmeyer, Chris prepared numerous opinions, attended numerous trials, and observed several judicial settlement conferences. This invaluable experience has provided Chris with substantial and critical insight into the inner workings of the federal judicial system.

Chris was the recipient of the four-year Chick Evans Scholarship issued by the Western Golf Association. During his studies at Marquette University, Chris conducted extensive research on extrusion techniques for engineering thermoplastics, resins, compounds and alloys.

In a survey of his peers published in Chicago magazine and Super Lawyers magazine, Chris was named as one of Illinois’ “Rising Stars” in intellectual property law for years 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Memberships