Application of Elaine Lustig

368 F.2d 1019, 54 C.C.P.A. 840

• Court: Court of Customs and Patent Appeals
• Decided: December 1, 1966
• Docket: Patent Appeal 7672
• Status: Published

Opinions

WORLEY, Chief Judge.

Lustig seeks to patent:

The ornamental design for a font of type or the like, substantially as shown.

The application was rejected by the examiner, affirmed by the Board of Appeals, on the ground that appellant’s font was “an obvious modification” of the Smith font.¹

The following !e by side comparison clearly supports the decision below:

LUSTIG ABCDEFGH

SMITH ABCDEFGH

LUSTIG IJKLMNOP

SMITH IJKLMNOP

LUSTIG STUVWXYZ

SMITH STUVWXYZ

LUSTIG bcdhiklnopr

SMITH bcdhiklnopr

LUSTIG suvxz 389

SMITH suvxz 389

In her brief here appellant states that

The font of type of the present invention is characterized by a “boldness” which results from the fact that:

(a) the strokes of the letters are of an almost even weight and thus there is hardly any contrast between the thick and the thin strokes;

(b) the serifs ² of the letters are best described as being slabs of heavy weight which continue the bold stroke of the rest of the letters and give the impression of an equal weight throughout; and

(c) the bold serifs are slightly rounded where they meet the verticals.

The “boldness” which characterizes the over-all appearance and theme of the present alphabet was recognized by both the Board of Appeals and the Examiner.

We are equally cognizant of the minor differences appellant relies on, and equally certain they do not reflect differences which would be unobvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.

The decision is affirmed.

Affirmed.

Judge RICH took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.

Judge MARTIN participated in the hearing but died before a decision was reached. By agreement of counsel, Judge KIRKPATRICK participated in the decision of this case.

1 . The references relied on are:

Rogers D-12,111 January 11, 1881.

Smith D-38,855 October 8, 1907.

Benton D-45,981 June 23, 1914.

Pro type Lettering Styles catalog (c) 1958, page 12, item #12-0817-G.

According to the board, the secondary references were employed “with respect to certain minor details as to some of the letters.”

2 . W. Turner Berry and A. F. Johnson, Encyclopedia of Type Faces, Blandford Press Ltd., 1953, page 12, defines serifs:

In the designing of formal letters * * * unconnected strokes are finished off by the addition of short cross-lines called serifs. * * * They may be horizontal on top, or inclined; they may be thick or thin, and of varying size in proportion to the main stem. * * *