Columbia Sportswear North America, Inc. v. Seirus Innovative Accessories, Inc.

Case: 21-2299 Document: 61 Page: 1 Filed: 09/15/2023

United States Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit
______________________

COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR NORTH AMERICA,
INC.,
Plaintiff-Appellant

v.

SEIRUS INNOVATIVE ACCESSORIES, INC.,
Defendant-Cross-Appellant
______________________

2021-2299, 2021-2338
______________________

Appeals from the United States District Court for the
Southern District of California in No. 3:17-cv-01781-HZ,
Judge Marco A. Hernandez.
______________________

Decided: September 15, 2023
______________________

NICHOLAS FREMONT ALDRICH, JR., Schwabe, William-
son & Wyatt P.C., Portland, OR, argued for plaintiff-appel-
lant. Also represented by SCOTT D. EADS, SARA KOBAK. Also
argued by CHRISTOPHER V. CARANI, McAndrews, Held &
Malloy, Ltd., Chicago, IL.

SETH MCCARTHY SPROUL, Fish & Richardson, P.C., San
Diego, CA, argued for defendant-cross-appellant. Also rep-
resented by CHRISTOPHER MARCHESE, JOHN WINSTON
THORNBURGH.
______________________
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2 COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR NORTH AMERICA, INC. v.
SEIRUS INNOVATIVE ACCESSORIES, INC.

Before PROST, REYNA, and HUGHES, Circuit Judges.
PROST, Circuit Judge.
Columbia Sportswear North America, Inc. (“Colum-
bia”) sued Seirus Innovative Accessories, Inc. (“Seirus”) for
infringing U.S. Design Patent No. D657,093 (“the D’093 pa-
tent”). After the district court granted summary judgment
of infringement and a jury awarded Columbia $3,018,174
in damages, Seirus appealed to this court. In Columbia I, 1
we vacated the summary judgment of infringement and re-
manded for further proceedings.
On remand, a jury found that Seirus did not infringe.
Columbia appeals, mainly challenging the jury instruc-
tions. Seirus conditionally cross-appeals as to damages.
For the reasons discussed below, we vacate the non-in-
fringement judgment and remand for further proceedings.
BACKGROUND
I
Columbia’s D’093 patent, titled “Heat Reflective Mate-
rial,” claims “[t]he ornamental design of a heat reflective
material, as shown and described” in various figures.
D’093 patent, at [54], [57]. Figure 1, described as “an ele-
vational view of a heat reflective material,” J.A. 4, is repro-
duced below:

1 Columbia Sportswear N. Am., Inc. v. Seirus Inno-
vative Accessories, Inc., 942 F.3d 1119 (Fed. Cir. 2019) (“Co-
lumbia I”).
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J.A. 1704.
Seirus markets and sells products (e.g., gloves) made
with material that it calls HeatWave. An image of Heat-
Wave material appears below:

Cross-Appellant’s Br. 17 (citing J.A. 3992).
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4 COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR NORTH AMERICA, INC. v.
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II
A
Columbia sued Seirus in district court, 2 accusing
Seirus of infringing the D’093 patent via its HeatWave
products.
Columbia sought both a construction of the D’093 pa-
tent’s claim and summary judgment of infringement. The
district court declined to construe the claim but granted
summary judgment of infringement all the same. Colum-
bia Sportswear N. Am., Inc. v. Seirus Innovative Accesso-
ries, 202 F. Supp. 3d 1186, 1189 (D. Or. 2016) (“SJ
Opinion”).
The district court’s summary-judgment opinion began
with the “ordinary observer” test for design-patent in-
fringement, drawn from the Supreme Court’s Gorham de-
cision:
[I]f, in the eye of an ordinary observer, giving such
attention as a purchaser usually gives, two designs
are substantially the same, if the resemblance is
such as to deceive such an observer, inducing him
to purchase one supposing it to be the other, the
first one patented is infringed by the other.

2 Columbia sued in the U.S. District Court for the
District of Oregon, which later transferred the case to the
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California,
from which it came to this court on appeal in Columbia I
and comes again to this court now. See Columbia I,
942 F.3d at 1124, 1132–33. Because the distinction is im-
material to our discussion, we refer to the two district
courts interchangeably as the district court.
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SJ Opinion, 202 F. Supp. 3d at 1190–91 (alteration in orig-
inal) (quoting Gorham Co. v. White, 81 U.S. (14 Wall.) 511,
528 (1871)).
The district court also addressed the topic of compari-
son prior art. In a design-patent infringement analysis,
comparison prior art serves as background when compar-
ing a claimed and accused design. See id. at 1195 (stating
that the “ordinary observer is deemed to view the differ-
ences between the patented design and the accused product
in the context of the prior art,” and “when the claimed de-
sign is close to the prior art designs, small differences be-
tween the accused design and the claimed design are likely
to be important to the eye of the hypothetical ordinary ob-
server” (quoting Egyptian Goddess, Inc. v. Swisa, Inc.,
543 F.3d 665, 676 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (en banc))).
The district court then discussed two issues relevant
here. First, it rejected Seirus’s argument that the Seirus
logo appearing throughout the design of HeatWave mate-
rial made that design different enough from the claimed
design to preclude summary judgment of infringement. Id.
at 1193–94. Indeed, relying on its interpretation of this
court’s precedent, the district court disregarded the Seirus
logo altogether in its infringement analysis. Id. at 1193
(citing L.A. Gear, Inc. v. Thom McAn Shoe Co., 988 F.2d
1117, 1126 (Fed. Cir. 1993)). Second, the district court
evaluated the comparison prior art that Seirus had offered
in support of its non-infringement position. As to U.S. Pa-
tent Nos. 2,539,690 (“Boorn”) and 1,515,792 (“Respess”),
the district court found that they “cover[ed] products far
afield” from the D’093 patent’s heat reflective material and
therefore were not relevant comparison prior art. See id.
at 1196. As to U.S. Patent No. 5,626,949 (“Blauer”), how-
ever, the district court compared it side-by-side with both
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6 COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR NORTH AMERICA, INC. v.
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the D’093 patent and the HeatWave material (as shown be-
low, with Blauer listed as the ’949 patent):

Id. at 1197. The district court found that “the contrasting
waves of Seirus’s design are still substantially closer to the
contrasting wave design disclosed in the D’093 patent than
either Seirus’s or Columbia’s design is to the pattern dis-
closed in [Blauer].” Id. (finding that “[t]he waves in
[Blauer] are not contrasting colors” and that “the waves in
the Columbia and Seirus designs are very close to the same
wavelength and amplitude”). In light of this evaluation,
the district court found that “[t]he overall visual effect of
the Columbia and Seirus designs [is] nearly identical.” Id.
With infringement thus established, damages were
tried to a jury, who awarded Columbia $3,018,174.
B
Seirus appealed the district court’s summary judgment
of infringement and the jury’s damages award to this court.
In Columbia I, we vacated the summary judgment, con-
cluding that the district court erred in two respects.
First, the district court had improperly declined to con-
sider the effect of Seirus’s logo in its infringement analysis.
Columbia I, 942 F.3d at 1130. We explained that, while a
“would-be infringer should not escape liability for design
patent infringement if a design is copied but labeled with
its name,” our precedent “does not prohibit the fact finder
from considering an ornamental logo, its placement, and its
appearance as one among other potential differences be-
tween a patented design and an accused one.” See id.
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at 1131 (emphasis in original). Second, the district court
had resolved certain fact issues that should have been left
to a jury. Among these issues was the impact of Seirus’s
comparison prior art. In particular, after we described the
district court’s three-way comparison of the D’093 patent,
the Seirus HeatWave material, and Blauer—as well as the
court’s resulting finding that “[t]he overall visual effect of
the Columbia and Seirus designs [is] nearly identical”—we
concluded that this factfinding was improper on summary
judgment. Id. (first alteration in original) (quoting SJ
Opinion, 202 F. Supp. 3d at 1197).
We therefore vacated the summary judgment and re-
manded for further proceedings. Although we noted
Seirus’s separate arguments concerning damages, we
“d[id] not reach them because we ha[d] vacated the in-
fringement finding.” Id. at 1132.
III
Infringement was then tried to a jury. Three aspects
of that trial are relevant here: (1) the comparison prior art
(and related arguments), (2) the jury instructions on com-
parison prior art, and (3) the jury instructions implicating
the Seirus logo. We discuss each in turn.
A
Before trial, the district court limited admissible com-
parison prior art to “wave patterns on fabric.” J.A. 421
(emphasis added). In light of this ruling, Seirus presented
to the jury Boorn, Respess, and Blauer as alleged compari-
son prior art.
Boorn is a 1951 utility patent that discloses a method
of inlaying plastic threads into plastic sheets. In particu-
lar, it says that prior-art methods of simply painting,
stamping, or printing ornamental stripes on the surface of
a coated fabric or a plastic sheet produce stripes that are
“likely to wear off readily,” and it seeks to overcome that
problem by “forcing into such surface preformed plastic
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threads or ribbons to thereby embed them in the surface of
the plastic material and form the desired inlaid striped de-
sign.” J.A. 1465 col. 1 ll. 1–19.
Respess is a 1924 utility patent that discloses a “pro-
cess of making a strong pliable unwoven fabric.” See
J.A. 1468 col. 1 ll. 13–14. One of the objects of the inven-
tion is to make such a fabric so that it “may readily be
formed around the core in making a rubber tire and similar
articles.” J.A. 1468 col. 1 ll. 22–29.
Blauer is a 1997 utility patent titled “Breathable Shell
for Outerwear.” J.A. 1457. It describes its “Field of the
Invention” as “relat[ing] to fabric constructions for outer-
wear, and, more particularly, to shell fabric constructions
for coats, pants, jackets, boots, gloves, and other outer
clothing that are designed for protection against inclement
weather.” J.A. 1460 col. 1 ll. 10–15. Its outerwear shell
seeks to achieve “vapor permeability, water repellency,
wind obstruction, stain resistance, dimensional stability,
and external durability.” J.A. 1460 col. 2 ll. 1–8.
The district court, in addition to admitting these refer-
ences because they disclosed fabric, precluded Columbia
from trying to distinguish them as not disclosing heat re-
flective material. The district court reasoned that allowing
Columbia to do so (e.g., by argument or witness question-
ing) would improperly import functional considerations
into the design-patent infringement analysis. See J.A. 421.
B
Columbia proposed two jury instructions addressing
the proper scope of comparison prior art. Proposed jury in-
struction no. 9E (titled “Claim Scope”) stated that “[t]he
[D’093 patent] is limited to the design of heat reflective ma-
terials, as shown and described in the patent,” and that
“[t]he plain and ordinary meaning of ‘heat reflective mate-
rials’ in the context of the [D’093 patent] does not include
all materials.” J.A. 360 (capitalization normalized).
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Proposed jury instruction no. 9F (titled “What is Prior Art”)
stated:
In design patent law, the term “prior art” refers to
prior designs that address the same subject matter
or field of endeavor as the patented design or that
address a field of endeavor so similar that a de-
signer having ordinary skill would look to articles
in that field for their designs. The subject matter
and field of endeavor of the D’093 patent is orna-
mental designs for heat reflective materials.
J.A. 369 (capitalization normalized).
During trial, the district court gave the parties a draft
of its jury instructions. Columbia took issue with the dis-
trict court’s draft instruction no. 11, which concerned com-
parison prior art. Columbia argued that (1) the scope of
comparison prior art “is not the universe of abstract design
but is limited to designs of the same article of manufacture
or of articles so similar that a person of ordinary skill would
look to such articles for their designs,” and (2) at the very
least, the jury (as fact finder) should get to decide for them-
selves whether Boorn, Respess, and Blauer were within the
proper scope. See J.A. 1172–73 (cleaned up). The district
court then invited the parties to propose revisions to its
draft jury instructions. J.A. 1185. Columbia proposed in-
cluding a sentence in draft instruction no. 11 stating: “The
term ‘prior art’ refers to prior designs of the same article of
manufacture or of articles so similar that a person of ordi-
nary skill would look to such articles for their designs.”
J.A. 1481.
The district court declined to include Columbia’s pro-
posed sentence and gave instruction no. 11 (in relevant
part) to the jury as follows:
You must decide what is prior art. Prior art in-
cludes things that were publicly known, or used in
a publicly accessible way in this country, or that
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were patented or described in a publication in any
country before the creation of the claimed design.
You must familiarize yourself with the prior art in
determining whether there has been infringement.
When the claimed design is visually close to prior
art designs, small differences between the accused
design and the claimed design may be important in
analyzing whether the overall appearances of the
accused and claimed designs are substantially the
same.
J.A. 1521.
Thus, aside from publication and date requirements—
matters undisputed as to Boorn, Respess, and Blauer—the
jury instructions provided no standard by which the jury
should decide what is comparison prior art.
C
Columbia also proposed two jury instructions address-
ing Seirus’s logo on the accused HeatWave design. Pro-
posed jury instruction no. 9B (titled “Design Patent
Infringement”) stated that “[c]onfusion as to the source or
provider of the goods accused of infringing is irrelevant to
determining whether a patent is infringed.” J.A. 348. Pro-
posed jury instruction no. 9D (titled “Logo/Confusion”)
stated:
Labelling a product with source identification or
branding does not avoid infringement. Consumer
confusion as to the source or provider of the prod-
ucts is not a consideration in an infringement anal-
ysis. [B]ut you may consider an ornamental logo,
its placement, and its appearance as one among
other potential differences between a patented de-
sign and an accused one in deciding whether the
overall appearance of the patented and accused de-
sign are substantially similar.
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J.A. 356.
The district court’s draft jury instructions did not in-
clude Columbia’s proposals (at least not verbatim). See Ap-
pellant’s Br. 37–38. Instead, draft instruction no. 10 did
two basic things. First, it recited the ordinary-observer
test: “Two designs are substantially the same if, in the eye
of an ordinary observer, giving such attention as a pur-
chaser usually gives, the resemblance between the two de-
signs is such as to deceive an ordinary observer, inducing
him to purchase one supposing it to be the other.” Appel-
lant’s Br. 38; see Gorham, 81 U.S. at 528. Second, it added:
“You do not need, however, to find that any purchasers
were actually deceived or confused by the appearance of the
accused products.” Appellant’s Br. 38.
Columbia took issue with the district court’s draft in-
struction no. 10, arguing that it should have added that the
jury also need not find a likelihood of consumer confusion.
J.A. 1159–60. Columbia proposed revising a sentence in
the instruction to state: “You do not need, however, to find
that any purchasers were actually deceived, nor do you
need to find any actual confusion or likelihood of confusion
amongst consumers in the marketplace.” J.A. 1481 (em-
phasis added). The district court declined to include Co-
lumbia’s proposed revision and instead gave instruction
no. 10 (in relevant part) to the jury as follows:
Two designs are substantially the same if, in the
eye of an ordinary observer, giving such attention
as a purchaser usually gives, the resemblance be-
tween the two designs is such as to deceive an or-
dinary observer, inducing him to purchase one
supposing it to be the other. You do not need, how-
ever, to find that any purchasers were actually de-
ceived or confused by the appearance of the accused
products.
J.A. 1520.
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12 COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR NORTH AMERICA, INC. v.
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* * *
The jury returned a verdict of non-infringement, and
the district court accordingly entered judgment for Seirus.
Columbia appeals, and Seirus conditionally cross-appeals
as to damages. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.
§ 1295(a)(1).
DISCUSSION
Our discussion proceeds as follows. Part I addresses
the parties’ arguments concerning the preclusive effects of
prior proceedings. Parts II.A and II.B address Columbia’s
jury-instruction and other challenges concerning compari-
son prior art and Seirus’s logo. Part III addresses Seirus’s
conditional cross-appeal.
I
The parties argue that prior proceedings through Co-
lumbia I create certain preclusive effects here. These ef-
fects take various labels. Both parties invoke law of the
case, while Seirus adds judicial estoppel to the mix. We
reject each of these contentions.
The law-of-the-case doctrine relies on the force of a
matter having already been decided in the case. See, e.g.,
Christianson v. Colt Indus. Operating Corp., 486 U.S. 800,
817 (1988) (noting that the doctrine “expresses the practice
of courts generally to refuse to reopen what has been de-
cided” (cleaned up)). Columbia, citing the district court’s
previous exclusion of comparison prior art concerning prod-
ucts “far afield” from heat reflective material, argues that
this ruling as to what qualifies as comparison prior art be-
came the law of the case when Seirus failed to challenge it
in Columbia I. Appellant’s Br. 55–56 (citing SJ Opinion,
202 F. Supp. 3d at 1196 (excluding Boorn and Respess from
consideration as comparison prior art)). Seirus does not
dispute that it failed to challenge that particular ruling in
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Columbia I. 3 Instead, it maintains that, because Colum-
bia I vacated the summary judgment, that ruling cannot be
relied upon as law of the case. Cross-Appellant’s Br. 48–49
(citing Rumsfeld v. Freedom NY, Inc., 329 F.3d 1320, 1332
(Fed. Cir. 2003) (“[A] vacated judgment has no preclusive
force . . . as a matter of the law of the case.” (cleaned up))).
Columbia’s argument, however, does not implicate law
of the case so much as it does forfeiture 4—a related, yet
distinct, concept in this area. See, e.g., Crocker v. Piedmont
Aviation, Inc., 49 F.3d 735, 739 (D.C. Cir. 1995) (noting

3 To be sure, Seirus challenged the district court’s
comparison of the claimed and accused designs with Blauer
as resulting in factual determinations improperly made
against it at summary judgment. But it did not challenge
how the district court decided which comparison prior art
to consider in the first place. Unsurprisingly, given
Seirus’s failure to raise that issue, Columbia I did not pass
upon it. That being so, Seirus’s statements throughout its
briefing that Columbia I reversed the district court on “ex-
actly th[at] issue[],” Cross-Appellant’s Br. 12—or that Co-
lumbia’s position in this appeal regarding comparison prior
art is “directly contrary to this [c]ourt’s decision in Colum-
bia I,” id. at 38, 42 (emphasis added)—are inaccurate (at
best).
4 Although Columbia’s briefing and several authori-
ties on this issue use the term “waiver,” we believe “forfei-
ture” is more accurate. See 18B Charles Alan Wright,
Arthur R. Miller & Edward H. Cooper, Federal Practice
and Procedure § 4478.6, pp. 786, 791–92 (3d ed. 2019) (ob-
serving in this area that, “[a]lthough forfeiture would be a
more suitable expression,” that term “is not always used;
waiver often takes its place”); see also In re Google Tech.
Holdings LLC, 980 F.3d 858, 862–63 (Fed. Cir. 2020) (ex-
plaining that courts and litigants often use the term
“waiver” when applying the doctrine of forfeiture).
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that the bar on litigating issues “omitted from prior ap-
peals” is “best understood as a species of waiver doctrine”
and is “analytically distinct” from “law-of-the-case doctrine
proper”); id. at 739–40; see also 18B Wright & Miller
§ 4478.6 (distinguishing between law of the case and forfei-
ture). The argument is that Seirus’s failure to challenge
the district court’s scope-of-comparison-prior-art ruling in
Columbia I cemented that ruling as, essentially, the law of
the case. Viewed that way, it is unclear why our disposition
in Columbia I would relieve Seirus of the consequences of
its failure to challenge that particular ruling—at least
given that, aside from recounting the ruling as background,
Columbia I, 942 F.3d at 1130, our disposition neither ad-
dressed it nor necessarily disturbed it.
Still, whether to excuse a forfeiture is generally within
our discretion. See, e.g., Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew,
Inc., 35 F.4th 1328, 1344 n.7 (Fed. Cir. 2022). And here,
the circumstances counsel against letting Seirus’s forfei-
ture dictate what qualifies as comparison prior art.
Seirus’s forfeiture could fairly cover only the district court’s
ruling as applied to Boorn and Respess (references the
court excluded from consideration). The district court con-
sidered Blauer extensively, so Seirus had no occasion to
challenge the ruling as applied to Blauer. See United
States v. Lee, 358 F.3d 315, 324 (5th Cir. 2004) (“An issue
is not waived if there was no reason to raise it in the initial
appeal.”). And, because Blauer persisted as potential com-
parison prior art in the infringement trial, Columbia’s cur-
rent appeal would in any event require us to articulate the
proper scope of comparison prior art—an issue of first im-
pression for this court. See infra Discussion Part II.A. Be-
cause we are just now articulating this scope, we deem it
the better course to allow the parties and the district court
to engage with it afresh—both as to Blauer and other ref-
erences. Cf. Crocker, 49 F.3d at 740 (noting that an inter-
vening change in the law will support departing from the
“previously established law of the case” and that “[t]he
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preclusive barrier of the waiver doctrine is even one notch
weaker”).
Seirus, for its part, likewise invokes law of the case, al-
beit likewise in a way that implicates forfeiture. According
to Seirus, when Columbia failed to challenge (in Colum-
bia I) the district court’s decision not to construe the claim,
it forfeited the ability to seek a claim construction—thus
cementing a non-construction as the law of the case and
barring Columbia from arguing about what a heat reflec-
tive material is. See Cross-Appellant’s Br. 47–48 (arguing
that Columbia’s proposed jury instruction—that heat re-
flective materials not mean all materials—is improper due
to that alleged forfeiture).
We reject Seirus’s argument. Insofar as Columbia I
concerned the D’093 patent, 5 Columbia came to this court
as the appellee, having prevailed on infringement. We
therefore do not see—nor has Seirus supplied—any reason
why Columbia should have quibbled with the district
court’s decision not to construe the claim. See Laitram
Corp. v. NEC Corp., 115 F.3d 947, 954 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (dis-
tinguishing between applying “waiver” as against a prior
appellant and appellee and noting that the issue was “not
what [appellee] could supposedly have argued [in the prior
appeal], but rather what it was required to argue, or indeed
could properly have argued” (emphasis in original)); see
also Yesudian ex rel. United States v. Howard Univ.,
270 F.3d 969, 971 (D.C. Cir. 2001) (“[A]ny forfeiture from
failure to raise an issue in an initial appeal is far from ab-
solute, especially where . . . the party failing to present the
issue was the appellee, defending on a field of battle de-
fined by the appellant.”). Accordingly, there was no forfei-
ture here, and therefore nothing amounting to a “law of the

5 Columbia I also concerned a Columbia utility pa-
tent that is no longer at issue.
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case” foreclosing a claim construction or related argu-
ments.
Finally, Seirus argues that Columbia should be judi-
cially estopped from maintaining that the relevant article
of manufacture—for purposes of infringement-related com-
parison prior art—is heat reflective material. See Cross-
Appellant’s Br. 47. Seirus argues that such a position
would be inconsistent with Columbia’s position at the dam-
ages trial that the relevant “article of manufacture”—for
purposes of calculating damages under 35 U.S.C. § 289—is
an entire end product (e.g., gloves with portions not made
of HeatWave material).
We disagree that judicial estoppel is appropriate here.
Judicial estoppel “is an equitable doctrine invoked by a
court at its discretion.” New Hampshire v. Maine, 532 U.S.
742, 750 (2001) (cleaned up). Factors that typically inform
whether to apply the doctrine include: (1) whether a party’s
earlier and later positions are “clearly inconsistent”;
(2) whether the party “succeeded in persuading a court to
accept” the earlier position; and (3) whether the party
would “derive an unfair advantage or impose an unfair det-
riment” on the opposing party if not estopped. Id.
at 750–51 (cleaned up). Setting aside whether Columbia’s
positions are “clearly inconsistent”—an issue we do not
reach in this case, cf. infra Discussion Part III (declining to
reach Seirus’s damages issues on the merits)—judicial es-
toppel is an equitable doctrine. And we see no equity in
letting a position Columbia took while securing a (cur-
rently inapplicable) damages award impede its efforts to
secure infringement liability—and thus damages—at all.
Any incompatibility between a determination of infringe-
ment and the previously determined damages award may
be addressed, if at all, if Columbia prevails on infringe-
ment.
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II
We turn now to Columbia’s challenges to (1) the jury
instructions (and exclusion of evidence and argument) con-
cerning comparison prior art and (2) the jury instructions
implicating Seirus’s logo.
The parties agree that we should review Columbia’s
jury-instruction challenges under the law of the regional
circuit—here, the Ninth Circuit. Appellant’s Br. 46 (citing
Voda v. Cordis Corp., 536 F.3d 1311, 1328 (Fed. Cir. 2008));
Cross-Appellant’s Br. 40 (same). We also applied Ninth
Circuit law in reviewing a jury-instruction challenge in Co-
lumbia I. 942 F.3d at 1127–28. We do so again here. That
means we “review de novo whether an instruction states
the law correctly” and review for abuse of discretion “a dis-
trict court’s formulation of civil jury instructions.” Peralta
v. Dillard, 744 F.3d 1076, 1082 (9th Cir. 2014) (en banc);
id. (noting further that jury instructions must “fairly and
adequately cover the issues presented, correctly state the
law, and not be misleading”); see also Gantt v. City of L.A.,
717 F.3d 702, 706 (9th Cir. 2013) (“Incomplete instructions
are treated as legal errors and reviewed de novo as well.”). 6

6 We acknowledge precedent “apply[ing] Federal
Circuit law to review the legal sufficiency of jury instruc-
tions on an issue of patent law without deference to the dis-
trict court.” Eko Brands, LLC v. Adrian Rivera Maynez
Enters., Inc., 946 F.3d 1367, 1378 (Fed. Cir. 2020) (cleaned
up); see id. at 1378 & n.4 (asking whether instructions were
“incomplete as given” and whether they “correctly state[d]
an issue of patent law” (cleaned up)); see also DSU Med.
Corp. v. JMS Co., 471 F.3d 1293, 1304 (Fed. Cir. 2006) (en
banc in relevant part) (“This [c]ourt . . . only orders a new
trial when errors in the instructions as a whole clearly mis-
lead the jury.” (cleaned up)). Ultimately, which standard—
the Ninth Circuit’s or ours—governs here is immaterial
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18 COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR NORTH AMERICA, INC. v.
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We review the district court’s exclusion of evidence or
argument at trial under the law of the regional circuit. See
Star Sci., Inc. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 655 F.3d 1364,
1372 (Fed. Cir. 2011). The Ninth Circuit reviews such rul-
ings for abuse of discretion. See Wagner v. Cnty. of Mari-
copa, 747 F.3d 1048, 1052 (9th Cir. 2013) (evidence); U.S.
Fid. & Guar. Co. v. Lee Invs. LLC, 641 F.3d 1126, 1137
(9th Cir. 2011) (argument).
We first address the comparison-prior-art issues, then
the logo issues.
A
1
We begin with the purpose of comparison prior art in a
design-patent infringement analysis. 7
Before our en banc opinion in Egyptian Goddess, de-
sign-patent infringement required satisfying two separate
tests. One was the ordinary-observer test. Egyptian God-
dess, 543 F.3d at 670–72 (citing Gorham, 81 U.S. at 528).
The other was the “point of novelty” test, which asked
whether the similarity between the claimed and accused
designs was attributable to the novelty that distinguished

because our conclusions would be the same under either
standard. See ADASA Inc. v. Avery Dennison Corp.,
55 F.4th 900, 914 (Fed. Cir. 2022) (declining to resolve
which standard of review for jury instructions applies
when either would produce the same result).
7 Using prior art in an infringement analysis is, by
and large, peculiar to design-patent law. In analyzing in-
fringement of a utility patent (which is the type of patent
we usually consider), the task generally consists of simply
comparing the properly construed patent claim to the ac-
cused product or method. See, e.g., Philip Morris Prods.
S.A. v. ITC, 63 F.4th 1328, 1348 (Fed. Cir. 2023).
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the claimed design from the prior art. Id. at 670–72,
675–76 (discussing Litton Sys., Inc. v. Whirlpool Corp.,
728 F.2d 1423 (Fed. Cir. 1984)); see Winner Int’l Corp. v.
Wolo Mfg. Corp., 905 F.2d 375, 376 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (de-
scribing this test’s purpose as focusing on aspects of a de-
sign that render it different from the prior art).
In Egyptian Goddess, we eliminated the point-of-nov-
elty test as a separate test and held that the ordinary-ob-
server test is the sole test for design-patent infringement.
543 F.3d at 678. In doing so, however, we retained a role
for prior art in cases where “the claimed and accused de-
signs are not plainly dissimilar.” Id.; accord Ethicon Endo-
Surgery, Inc. v. Covidien, Inc., 796 F.3d 1312, 1337
(Fed. Cir. 2015). Specifically, we explained that in such
cases the ordinary-observer test should be applied with ref-
erence to prior-art designs, because those designs can in-
form the perspective of the hypothetical ordinary observer:
Particularly in close cases, it can be difficult to an-
swer the question whether one thing is like another
without being given a frame of reference. The con-
text in which the claimed and accused designs are
compared, i.e., the background prior art, provides
such a frame of reference and is therefore often use-
ful in the process of comparison. Where the frame
of reference consists of numerous similar prior art
designs, those designs can highlight the distinc-
tions between the claimed design and the accused
design as viewed by the ordinary observer.
Egyptian Goddess, 543 F.3d at 676–77; see Int’l Seaway
Trading Corp. v. Walgreens Corp., 589 F.3d 1233, 1239
(Fed. Cir. 2009) (noting that Egyptian Goddess “refined the
ordinary observer test” by incorporating the context of the
prior art).
Comparison prior art can help highlight distinctions
between the claimed and accused designs because
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20 COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR NORTH AMERICA, INC. v.
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[w]hen the differences between [those] design[s]
are viewed in light of the prior art, the attention of
the hypothetical ordinary observer will be drawn to
those aspects of the claimed design that differ from
the prior art. And when the claimed design is close
to the prior art designs, small differences between
the accused design and the claimed design are
likely to be important to the eye of the hypothetical
ordinary observer.
Egyptian Goddess, 543 F.3d at 676. But such art can also
cut the other way—i.e., it can highlight similarities be-
tween the claimed and accused designs. As we explained:
If the accused design has copied a particular fea-
ture of the claimed design that departs conspicu-
ously from the prior art, the accused design is
naturally more likely to be regarded as deceptively
similar to the claimed design, and thus infringing.
Id. at 677.
2
As Columbia notes, the proper scope of comparison
prior art that may be used in an infringement analysis is
an issue of first impression for this court.
Columbia correctly states that a design-patent claim’s
scope is limited to the article of manufacture identified in
the claim (which here is heat reflective material), and it
argues that the scope of comparison prior art should be
likewise limited. Appellant’s Br. 42, 49 (citing In re Sur-
gisil, L.L.P., 14 F.4th 1380, 1382 (Fed. Cir. 2021)). Seirus,
though quick to say “that is not the law,” Cross-Appellant’s
Br. 46, does not meaningfully dispute that this is an open
question of law. And, outside of a passing remark that com-
parison prior art must be “close,” id., Seirus does not de-
velop a relevant argument as to what the scope should be.
In any event, we agree with Columbia.
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We have held that, for a prior-art design to anticipate,
it must be applied to the article of manufacture identified
in the claim. Surgisil, 14 F.4th at 1382 (claim scope limited
to a lip implant; designs applied to other articles—there,
an art tool—could not anticipate). We have also held that,
for an accused design to infringe, it must be applied to the
article of manufacture identified in the claim. See Curver
Luxembourg, SARL v. Home Expressions Inc., 938 F.3d
1334, 1336, 1340, 1343 (Fed. Cir. 2019) (claim scope limited
to a chair; design applied to a basket could not infringe);
see also Int’l Seaway, 589 F.3d at 1240 (holding that the
same test applies as between design-patent infringement
and anticipation). We conclude that this requirement also
applies to comparison prior art used in an infringement
analysis. That is, to qualify as comparison prior art, the
prior-art design must be applied to the article of manufac-
ture identified in the claim.
We apply this requirement to comparison prior art for
a few reasons. First, doing so best accords with comparison
prior art’s purpose. In an infringement analysis, that pur-
pose is to help inform an ordinary observer’s comparison
between the claimed and accused designs—designs that,
necessarily, must be applied to the same article of manu-
facture. Naturally, prior-art designs will help in that com-
parison only to the extent that they too are applied to that
article of manufacture.
Second, although the proper scope of comparison prior-
art designs has never been squarely at issue in our cases,
requiring that such designs be applied to the article of man-
ufacture identified in the claim conforms with many cases
in which courts considered such designs—including the
cases most instructive on the role of comparison prior art.
For example, we have regarded the Supreme Court’s Whit-
man Saddle case as foundational for using comparison
prior art in an infringement analysis. See Egyptian God-
dess, 543 F.3d at 672–74, 676 (recounting the history of this
issue, beginning with Smith v. Whitman Saddle Co.,
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22 COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR NORTH AMERICA, INC. v.
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148 U.S. 674 (1893)). There, the patent covered the design
of a saddle, and the comparison prior art consisted of sad-
dles. See 148 U.S. at 675–76, 680–82. Likewise, in Egyp-
tian Goddess, the patent covered the design of a nail buffer,
and the comparison prior art consisted of nail buffers.
543 F.3d at 668, 680–82. Similar examples abound. See,
e.g., ABC Corp. I v. P’ship & Unincorporated Ass’ns Identi-
fied on Schedule “A”, 52 F.4th 934, 937–38, 943 (Fed. Cir.
2022) (hoverboards vs. hoverboard); Wallace v. Ideavillage
Prods. Corp., 640 F. App’x 970, 971, 975–76 (Fed. Cir. 2016)
(nonprecedential) (body-washing brush vs. body-washing
brush); Arminak & Assocs., Inc. v. Saint-Gobain Calmar,
Inc., 501 F.3d 1314, 1318, 1324–25 (Fed. Cir. 2007)
(sprayer shroud vs. sprayer shrouds); Unidynamics Corp.
v. Automatic Prods. Int’l, Ltd., 157 F.3d 1311, 1313, 1324
(Fed. Cir. 1998) (vending machine for food vs. vending ma-
chines for food). 8

8 Although neither party’s briefing raised it as an is-
sue, we recognize that, in Lanard Toys Ltd. v. Dolgencorp
LLC, 958 F.3d 1337 (Fed. Cir. 2020), we “[saw] no error” in
the district court’s rejection of the patentee’s “attempt to
distinguish its patent [covering a pencil-shaped chalk
holder] from the prior art [e.g., pencils] by importing . . .
‘the chalk holder function of its design’ into the construc-
tion of the claim.” Id. at 1342–43 (quoting Lanard Toys
Ltd. v. Toys “R” Us-Del., Inc., No. 3:15-cv-849, 2019 WL
1304290, at *13 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 21, 2019)). Critically, how-
ever, the patentee there had not argued that pencil designs
should not be considered as comparison prior art for the
design of a pencil-shaped chalk holder—a point the district
court repeatedly emphasized. Lanard, 2019 WL 1304290,
at *12 (“Although Lanard emphasizes throughout its brief-
ing that the [patent] pertains to a chalk holder specifically,
Lanard does not contend that pencils and pencil-shaped
containers are not appropriately considered as prior art.”);
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Third, using the same scope for anticipatory prior art
and comparison prior art makes good practical sense. This
standard is already in the system. Surgisil, 14 F.4th
at 1382. It is also easy to articulate and provides clear
boundaries. See Curver, 938 F.3d at 1341 (“[T]ying the de-
sign pattern to a particular article provides more accurate
and predictable notice about what is and is not protected
by the design patent.”). Further, close questions may arise
as to the relationship between a given article of manufac-
ture and what the claim identifies. Such questions could
arise in the context of determining whether a prior-art de-
sign could anticipate or whether an accused design in-
fringes. But such questions could just as easily arise in the
context of establishing the comparison prior art itself—i.e.,
in setting the background for an infringement analysis.
Using the same standard in each of these contexts allows
litigants, courts, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
to benefit from guidance provided in any one of them.
In sum, we conclude for the foregoing reasons that, to
qualify as comparison prior art, the prior-art design must
be applied to the article of manufacture identified in the
claim.

id. at *13 n.15 (“Lanard does not dispute that the [c]ourt
can properly consider such objects in its analysis of the
prior art.”). Moreover, in the patentee’s appeal to this
court, the only developed argument in its opening brief con-
cerning the district court’s treatment of the prior art was
that the district court had improperly revived the point-of-
novelty test—an argument we separately rejected.
Lanard, 958 F.3d at 1344; see also Opening Br. of Pl.-Ap-
pellant Lanard Toys Ltd. at 24–25, 43–46, Lanard Toys
Ltd. v. Dolgencorp LLC, No. 19-1781 (Fed. Cir. July 17,
2019), ECF No. 20. We therefore do not regard Lanard as
controlling on the proper scope of comparison prior art.
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24 COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR NORTH AMERICA, INC. v.
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3
Returning now to the case at hand, Columbia argues
that the district court erred by failing to instruct the jury
as to the scope of the D’093 patent claim (design for a heat
reflective material) and, relatedly, the proper scope of com-
parison prior art. We agree. That error might be charac-
terized as a failure to “fairly and adequately cover the
issues presented,” see Peralta, 744 F.3d at 1082, or the giv-
ing of “[i]ncomplete instructions,” see Gantt, 717 F.3d
at 706. The problem was that, aside from the date and pub-
lication requirements for comparison prior art, the jury
lacked the correct standard for determining whether an ad-
mitted reference qualified as such art. Whether a particu-
lar reference meets that standard for comparison prior
art—i.e., whether it discloses a design applied to the article
of manufacture identified in the claim—is a question of fact
reserved for the fact finder (at least, where there could be
reasonable disagreement on that fact question such that it
has not been reduced to a question of law). See, e.g.,
ADASA, 55 F.4th at 910 (noting in the utility-patent con-
text that the “question of what a reference teaches and
whether it describes every element of a claim is a question
for the finder of fact” (cleaned up)). But the standard itself
is legal. And the failure to provide it was error—albeit
quite an understandable one, given that we have only now
articulated the standard.
We are also persuaded by Columbia’s showing on this
record that this error was prejudicial, and we are unper-
suaded by Seirus’s attempt to show otherwise. Compare
Appellant’s Br. 60–62, and Appellant’s Reply Br. 25, with
Cross-Appellant’s Br. 63–66. This prejudicial error war-
rants vacating the non-infringement judgment and re-
manding for further proceedings. See, e.g., Blumenthal
Distrib., Inc. v. Herman Miller, Inc., 963 F.3d 859, 869
(9th Cir. 2020).
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Columbia also argues that the district court abused its
discretion in prohibiting Columbia from trying to distin-
guish Boorn, Respess, or Blauer as not disclosing designs
applied to heat reflective material. More generally, Colum-
bia argues that heat reflective material is a genuinely dis-
tinct article of manufacture and does not mean just any
material. Seirus, however, maintains that permitting dis-
tinctions among materials (as articles of manufacture)
based on whether they are heat reflective would improperly
read a functional limitation into Columbia’s design patent.
E.g., Cross-Appellant’s Br. 38, 43–46. Without opining on
what might qualify as a heat reflective material—a matter
not currently before us—we may safely clear up Seirus’s
general misconception about the role of function in design
patents.
It is true that valid design patents cannot be directed
to designs that are primarily functional, as opposed to or-
namental. See, e.g., Ethicon, 796 F.3d at 1328. But it is
also true that “design patents are granted only for a design
applied to an article of manufacture.” Curver, 938 F.3d
at 1340 (emphasis added); accord Surgisil, 14 F.4th
at 1382; see also 35 U.S.C. § 171 (“Whoever invents any
new, original and ornamental design for an article of man-
ufacture may obtain a patent therefor . . . .”). And articles
of manufacture have functions. Ethicon, 796 F.3d at 1328.
An article’s function “must not be confused with ‘function-
ality’ of the design of the article.” Hupp v. Siroflex of Am.,
122 F.3d 1456, 1460 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (emphasis added).
Concern with the latter is what has featured prominently
in our case law. The idea is to preclude design-patent pro-
tection for something that, though purported to be an “or-
namental” design, is really dictated by function. See
Ethicon, 796 F.3d at 1328–30.
Here, the issue we are confronting is not whether the
D’093 patent’s design (e.g., a wavy pattern) is dictated by
function. Rather, the issue is whether the claimed article
to which that design is applied is the same as another
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26 COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR NORTH AMERICA, INC. v.
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article. A natural, relevant consideration for distinguish-
ing one article from another involves looking to the articles’
respective functions. That is one way we could tell in Sur-
gisil that an art tool was not a lip implant: one was “used
for smoothing and blending large areas of pastel or char-
coal”; the other was for implanting in a lip. See 14 F.4th
at 1381–82 (cleaned up). 9 Even if the two designs in Sur-
gisil might have looked similar in some respects, the art-
tool design could not anticipate the lip-implant design be-
cause those designs were applied to different articles. And
we knew they were different articles at least in part be-
cause of their different functions. But, aside from clarify-
ing that referencing functionality to distinguish articles of
manufacture is not categorically impermissible, we need
not further address Columbia’s argument that the district
court abused its discretion in prohibiting Columbia from
trying to make such distinctions, as we have already re-
manded for further proceedings based on the comparison-
prior-art jury-instruction issue.
Columbia further asks us to direct that none of Boorn,
Respess, and Blauer be considered as comparison prior art
at any new trial. This we decline to do in the first instance.
The main problem with Columbia’s request is that its open-
ing brief did not adequately preserve a challenge to the dis-
trict court’s admission of these references. Instead, its

9 This is not to say that simply including some func-
tion with a claimed article’s description (e.g., via naming or
argument) will necessarily exclude articles from a design-
patent claim’s scope that would otherwise fall within it.
For example, we suspect that, if a design patent were some-
how granted for a design applied to a “flower pot for plant-
ing daisies,” designs applied to prior-art flower pots not so
designated could still anticipate. Including that additional
function (“for planting daisies”) would not necessarily ren-
der the article genuinely distinct from other flower pots.
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brief focused on the district court’s jury instructions and
prohibition of Columbia’s attempt to distinguish the admit-
ted references. See, e.g., Appellant’s Br. 2–4 (Statement of
the Issues); id. at 41–44 (Summary of Argument); see also
Oral Arg. at 10:16–11:00, 15:37–16:08, 18:03–19:28 (dis-
cussing the preservation issue). 10 That preservation short-
coming, along with the fact that the district court has not
yet had a chance to engage with the standard we have ar-
ticulated, counsels against granting Columbia’s request. 11
On remand, the district court will likely be confronted
with questions implicating what qualifies as heat reflective
material. Such questions could be difficult to answer with-
out knowing what heat reflective material is. The district
court may therefore wish to consider construing that term.
The parties have at various points offered their view of
what it means. Columbia has indicated it means “a mate-
rial designed to reflect heat,” see J.A. 6696 (Columbia’s
Opening Markman Brief), or “metallic foil on a base mate-
rial to reflect heat,” Appellant’s Br. 63 (citing J.A. 617–18).
Seirus, on the other hand, has indicated that heat reflective
material means any material—on the theory that, as a
matter of physics, all materials reflect heat to some extent.
See Cross-Appellant’s Br. 49 (citing J.A. 363). Without
evaluating the merit of Seirus’s position, we feel compelled
to note that the accused design here is not applied to just

10 No. 21-2299, https://oralarguments.cafc.uscourts.
gov/default.aspx?fl=21-2299_01122023.mp3.
11 Given the circumstances, however—including Co-
lumbia’s other challenges concerning comparison prior art
and the proper scope of such art being an issue of first im-
pression—we do not think any forfeiture-based “law of the
case” principles regarding Columbia’s inadequate preser-
vation of an appellate challenge to the district court’s ad-
mission of these references should bar any effort by
Columbia to secure their exclusion at any new trial.
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28 COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR NORTH AMERICA, INC. v.
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any material. It is instead applied to material (called Heat-
Wave, of all things) that Seirus touts for its heat reflective
qualities. See, e.g., J.A. 3834 (Seirus marketing materials
describing HeatWave as “reflect[ing] radiated heat back for
more warmth”). This might suggest that, at least in the
minds of some, heat reflective material connotes something
genuinely distinct from just any material. But again, we
leave it to the district court on remand to determine
whether and to what extent the term needs construing.
B
We turn now to Columbia’s jury-instruction challenges
related to Seirus’s logo. Columbia challenges the district
court’s jury instructions as erroneous for not specifying
(1) that consumer confusion as to source is irrelevant to de-
sign-patent infringement, or (2) that a jury need not find a
likelihood of consumer confusion to find such infringement.
Because Columbia’s challenges implicate distinctions be-
tween trademark (including trade-dress) law on the one
hand and design-patent law on the other, we briefly discuss
the relevant legal principles applicable to each before con-
sidering those challenges.
1
Trademark and design-patent infringement differ as to
the relevance of consumer confusion regarding a product’s
source. Trademark infringement requires that consumers
will likely be confused as to a product’s source. 12 See, e.g.,
Moseley v. V Secret Catalogue, Inc., 537 U.S. 418, 428

12 Although trademark infringement contemplates
additional types of confusion, see, e.g., J. Thomas McCar-
thy, 4 McCarthy on Trademarks and Unfair Competition
§§ 23:5, 23:8, 24:6 (5th ed. 2023), for simplicity’s sake—and
because of the nature of Columbia’s jury-instruction chal-
lenges—we refer specifically to confusion as to a product’s
source.
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(2003) (noting that the Lanham Act “broadly prohibits uses
of trademarks, trade names, and trade dress that are likely
to cause confusion about the source of a product”); see also
4 McCarthy § 23:1; 1 McCarthy § 8:1. For design-patent
infringement, however, “[l]ikelihood of confusion as to the
source of the goods is not a necessary or appropriate fac-
tor.” Unette Corp. v. Unit Pack Co., 785 F.2d 1026, 1029
(Fed. Cir. 1986); see also Braun Inc. v. Dynamics Corp. of
Am., 975 F.2d 815, 828 (Fed. Cir. 1992) (noting that, while
“purchasers’ likelihood of confusion as to the source of a
good is a necessary factor for determining trademark and
trade dress infringement,” “a different quantum of proof
applies to design patent infringement, which does not con-
cern itself with the broad issue of consumer behavior in the
marketplace”).
Given this difference, applying a logo or other clear
source identifier in conjunction with a product can create
different effects as between trademark and design-patent
infringement. For trademark infringement, a distinctive
logo’s application can, under some circumstances, be signif-
icant evidence that there will be no consumer confusion as
to a product’s source, and therefore no infringement. See,
e.g., Groeneveld Transp. Efficiency, Inc. v. Lubecore Int’l,
Inc., 730 F.3d 494, 515 (6th Cir. 2013) (“[The accused in-
fringer] has in fact scrupulously avoided such confusion by
choosing a starkly different logo that it prominently dis-
plays on its [products] and on all its sales and marketing
literature.”); Int’l Ass’n of Machinists & Aerospace Workers,
AFL-CIO v. Winship Green Nursing Ctr., 103 F.3d 196, 204
(1st Cir. 1996) (“[W]e have recognized that in certain cir-
cumstances otherwise similar marks are not likely to be
confused if they are used in conjunction with clearly dis-
played names, logos[,] or other source-identifying designa-
tions of the manufacturer.” (collecting cases)); see also
Converse, Inc. v. ITC, 909 F.3d 1110, 1124 (Fed. Cir. 2018)
(noting, in a trade-dress case, that “we have not held that
[brand-name] labeling is always legally sufficient to avoid
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30 COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR NORTH AMERICA, INC. v.
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likelihood of confusion but rather that those labels may be
highly probative evidence”); 4 McCarthy § 23:53.
Logos are analyzed somewhat differently in the design-
patent context. Again, because design-patent infringement
does not consider consumer confusion as to source, such in-
fringement “is not avoided ‘by labelling.’” Columbia I,
942 F.3d at 1131 (quoting L.A. Gear, 988 F.2d at 1126); see
also id. (“A would-be infringer should not escape liability
for design patent infringement if a design is copied but la-
beled with its name.”). But logos are hardly irrelevant, ei-
ther. As we explained in Columbia I, our precedent “does
not prohibit the fact finder from considering an ornamental
logo, its placement, and its appearance as one among other
potential differences between” a claimed and accused de-
sign. See id. (emphasis in original). Indeed, it would be
improper “to ignore elements of the accused design en-
tirely, simply because those elements included the name of
the [accused infringer].” Id.
The takeaway is: just because consumers might not be
confused about an accused product’s source, that alone
would not preclude an ordinary observer from deeming the
claimed and accused designs similar enough to constitute
design-patent infringement. See Braun, 975 F.2d at 828
(discussing differences between trademark and design-pa-
tent infringement and noting that what matters for the lat-
ter is “that an ordinary observer would be deceived by
reason of an accused [product]’s ornamental design” (em-
phasis added)). At the same time, however, just because a
logo’s potential to eliminate confusion as to source is irrel-
evant to design-patent infringement, its potential to render
an accused design dissimilar to the patented one—maybe
even enough to establish non-infringement as a matter of
law—should not be discounted.
2
With these legal principles in mind, we consider Co-
lumbia’s logo-related jury-instruction challenges.
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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR NORTH AMERICA, INC. v. 31
SEIRUS INNOVATIVE ACCESSORIES, INC.

Again, the district court’s jury instruction on design-
patent infringement did two basic things. First, it recited
the ordinary-observer test for infringement—the very test
we endorsed in Columbia I and have endorsed numerous
times in the past. J.A. 1520; see Columbia I, 942 F.3d
at 1129; see also, e.g., Egyptian Goddess, 543 F.3d at 678
(“[I]n accordance with Gorham and subsequent decisions,
we hold that the ‘ordinary observer’ test should be the sole
test for determining whether a design patent has been in-
fringed.”). Second, it added that the jury did “not need,
however, to find that any purchasers were actually de-
ceived or confused by the appearance of the accused prod-
ucts.” J.A. 1520.
Columbia insists that the district court erred by not go-
ing further—by not adding that consumer confusion as to
source is irrelevant for design-patent infringement, or that
likelihood of confusion (in addition to actual confusion)
need not be found. We disagree. The district court gave
the ordinary-observer test for design-patent infringement
materially identically to how the Supreme Court and this
court have stated it, and it added that actual confusion was
not necessary to find design-patent infringement. These
could hardly be called incorrect statements of law. And we
are not convinced that the district court’s decision not to
include Columbia’s requested additions or clarifications
was an abuse of discretion or resulted in instructions that
were misleading or incomplete. 13

13 Indeed, although Columbia challenges the jury in-
structions, its real complaint seems to lie with the follow-
ing statement Seirus made during closing:
Hard to imagine with all those logos that an ordi-
nary observer, the consumer, would be
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32 COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR NORTH AMERICA, INC. v.
SEIRUS INNOVATIVE ACCESSORIES, INC.

That said, we are not insensitive to Columbia’s over-
arching concern. At a surface level, the ordinary-observer
test could be read as evoking concepts of consumer confu-
sion as to source, given that it asks whether the resem-
blance between two designs “is such as to deceive [an
ordinary] observer, inducing him to purchase one suppos-
ing it to be the other,” Gorham, 81 U.S. at 528. In design-
patent-infringement cases involving logos, we appreciate
the potential for a jury to be led astray and mistakenly con-
flate the significance of a logo’s source-identifying function
with whatever impact it might have on a comparison of the
designs. But district courts are in the best position to de-
cide whether and when to provide clarification in the
course of conducting a trial. And here we see no legal error
or abuse of discretion in the district court’s jury instruc-
tions, which are the only subject of Columbia’s challenge on
this issue.
III
We turn now to Seirus’s conditional cross-appeal re-
garding damages.
Seirus argues that, for purposes of calculating damages
under 35 U.S.C. § 289, 14 the relevant “article of

deceived . . . . I don’t see how that’s possible be-
cause Seirus is telling the world this is ours. This
is ours.
Appellant’s Br. 77 (emphasis and alterations supplied by
Columbia) (quoting J.A. 1225–26). But, outside of using
these statements to animate its challenges to the jury in-
structions, Columbia has not suggested that these state-
ments themselves provide a basis for appellate relief.
14 Section 289 provides (in relevant part):

Whoever during the term of a patent for a design,
without license of the owner, (1) applies the
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COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR NORTH AMERICA, INC. v. 33
SEIRUS INNOVATIVE ACCESSORIES, INC.

manufacture” is the HeatWave material—not the entire
end product to which it is applied (e.g., gloves with portions
not made of HeatWave material). Cross-Appellant’s
Br. 66–67 (encouraging us to “streamline further proceed-
ings” by so holding). Seirus also argues that the district
court erred by instructing the jury (at the damages trial)
that Seirus bore the burden of proving that the article of
manufacture for § 289 damages purposes is less than the
entire end product. According to Seirus, Columbia—as the
patentee—bore the burden of proving what that article is.
The parties further disagree as to whether any damages
retrial on profit-disgorgement issues should be tried to a
jury or the bench.
As we indicated in Columbia I, these are important is-
sues. See 942 F.3d at 1132. But we did not reach them
there because our disposition left the case with no infringe-
ment determination. See id. Because our disposition here
likewise leaves the case without an infringement determi-
nation, we do not reach these issues.
CONCLUSION
We have considered the parties’ remaining arguments
and find them unpersuasive. For the foregoing reasons, we
vacate the non-infringement judgment and remand for fur-
ther proceedings.

patented design, or any colorable imitation thereof,
to any article of manufacture for the purpose of
sale, or (2) sells or exposes for sale any article of
manufacture to which such design or colorable im-
itation has been applied shall be liable to the owner
to the extent of his total profit, but not less than
$250, recoverable in any United States district
court having jurisdiction of the parties.

35 U.S.C. § 289.
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34 COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR NORTH AMERICA, INC. v.
SEIRUS INNOVATIVE ACCESSORIES, INC.

VACATED AND REMANDED
COSTS
Costs to Columbia.