By Erin Geiger Smith

Jan 25 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday revived a lawsuit against Bed Bath & Beyond that claims the retailer stole the design for a towel with pockets.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that the lawsuit filed by inventor Roger Hall met the necessary pleading standards and properly explained how he believed the Bed Bath & Beyond towel infringed his design.

The decision reverses a December 2010 ruling by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan. The Federal Circuit found that Hellerstein erred in holding that a plaintiff pursuing a design patent claim needs to identify in an initial complaint what is "new, original, and ornamental" about the design.

Bed Bath & Beyond did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling. An attorney for Hall also was not immediately available.

Hall had a patent pending on the towel's design when he met with representatives of the retailer in 2009, according to details of his complaint included in the Federal Circuit decision.

Hall contended that he left samples of his packaged towel with the company and that copies of the towel were made for sale in its stores, according to the opinion. When Hall's patent was granted, he sued Bed Bath & Beyond for infringement of his design patent.

The three-judge panel of the Federal Circuit said that Hall's lawsuit should be allowed to proceed because it argues that an ordinary observer would be deceived by the resemblance between his towel and the retailer's.

At the same time, the court also upheld the lower court's dismissal of individual claims Hall had filed against a Bed Bath & Beyond employee.

The court awarded Hall costs incurred in the appeal.

The case is Hall v. Bed Bath & Beyond, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 2011-1165.

For plaintiff: Mitchell Shelowitz of Pearl Cohen Zedek Latzer.

For Bed Bath & Beyond: Laura Wytsma of Loeb & Loeb.

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