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In the space of a few weeks in late 2011, automaker Daimler AG sued an Asian manufacturer for infringing patents on the diminutive" Smart Car";'Crocs, maker of the eponymous (and wildly popular) rubber-molded footwear, filed a patent infringement suit against Walgreens; 2 Kohler sued a rival for infringing patents on stainless steel sinks; 3 and Apple and Samsung continued their worldwide battle over smart phones and tablet computers. 4 High-stakes, high-tech patent lawsuits such as these have become the norm on civil dockets of many federal courts across the country. What differentiates these suits is that they involve patents on designsthat is, patents on a product's visual appearance, not merely on the inventive components that make it work. 5 There are many other recent examples, and