Trade Dress

Protecting Non-Functional Product Design Features Through The Entire Life Cycle: From Conception to Grave

by Jeffrey R. Stone | Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. on 5/9/2013

IP protection for product designs is typically found in a combination of one or more of the following protective mechanisms...more

Shape Suddenly Matters

by Nancy Morgan | Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger... on 4/30/2013

As anyone in the candy industry will attest, many factors go into the making of a hit product. First and foremost, it better taste good. Having a great slogan also helps, as will having a celebrity endorser like Bart...more

IP/IT & Media Newsletter - Issue 1/2013

by Daja Apetz-Dreier, Thomas Fischl, Alexander Klett, Stephan Rippert, Kathrin Schlüter, Philipp Süss, Katharina Weimer | Reed Smith on 3/25/2013

In this issue: - Cookies, Clouds and Other Challenges – Retrospect and Prospect in Data Protection - Employee Data Protection – What’s Down the Road? - German Federal Supreme Court Decides Another...more

Trademark Review - Volume 3 | Issue 2 February 2013

by Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP on 3/4/2013

In This Issue: - Supreme Court Affirms Dismissal Based on Nike's Broad Covenant Not to Sue - Hershey Cannot Kiss SWISSKISS Chocolates Goodbye - Luulemon's Design Mark is Rejected as Merely...more

McDonald’s Trade Dress? State Farm is There.

by Steve Baird | Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. on 3/4/2013

Passing by a roadside billboard recently (below is a miniature version I found in the Minneapolis skyway system), my first thought was, wow, McDonald’s is getting into the juicy lucy business...more

$8 Million Trade Dress Infringement Verdict: Is Your Trade Dress Protected?

by Winfield (Win) Martin, Heidi Sachs | Perkins Coie on 3/1/2013

A recent $8.1 million verdict in a trademark and trade dress infringement action is an emphatic reminder that businesses of all sizes should protect their trade dress as well as their trademarks. Although smaller or startup...more

The Not-So-Happy Place of Genericness

by Steve Baird | Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. on 2/11/2013

Restaurant trade dress is possible to own when the claimed trade dress is distinctive and non-functional, think Taco Cabana. Restaurant trade dress can be so unique in the marketplace that distinctiveness is presumed with a...more

Trademark Office Denies Louboutin’s Request to Broaden Trade Dress in Red Sole Shoes

by Jocelyn Belloni, Susan Hollander | K&L Gates LLP on 1/31/2013

The red hot dispute continues between Christian Louboutin and Yves Saint Laurent (“YSL”) over Louboutin’s red sole shoe trademark. On January 16, 2013, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected Louboutin’s request to...more

Trademark Review - Volume 3 | Issue 1 January 2013

by Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP on 1/30/2013

In This Issue: • Bottle Design and Bottle Cap Design Are Both Entitled to Trademark Registration • Disney Owns Winnie-the-Pooh Trademarks • Apple Loses Claim Against Amazon for Use of Appstore - Excerpt...more

Just Moot It: Supreme Court in Already v. Nike Clarifies When a Covenant Not to Sue Can Kill a Declaratory Judgment Case

by Jedediah Wakefield, Sean Wikner | Fenwick & West LLP on 1/15/2013

In 2007, the Supreme Court in MedImmune v. Genentech broadened the scope of declaratory judgment jurisdiction, making it easier for parties fearing IP claims to bring defensive lawsuits. Last week, the Court made it easier...more

IP 101 – 10 Things to Know About Trademarks

by Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP on 1/8/2013

1. What is a trademark? A trademark is a brand name for a product. It can be a word, phrase, logo, design, or virtually anything that is used to identify the source of the product and distinguish it from competitors’...more

Inherently Distinctive Restaurant Interior?

by Steve Baird | Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. on 1/3/2013

We recently focused our attention on a very unique-looking, dare I say distinctive, retail store exterior design; for a quick reminder, see below. The recent craze for self-serve frozen yogurt shops – where you pay by...more

Fashion Law Making Strides off the Runway: 2012 Year in Review

by Ladas & Parry LLP on 12/20/2012

This year has been marked by significant judicial and legislative developments relating to the fashion industry in the United States....more

Mixed Chicks Scores Big

by Tiffany Blofield | Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. on 12/14/2012

It’s not every day that a small company stands up for itself against a multi-billion dollar company in court, and manages to obtain a large verdict in the process, but this is precisely the Cinderella story that played out in...more

Points & Authorities - Fall 2012

by Buchalter Nemer on 12/6/2012

In This Issue: - The Innovative Design Protection Act: Bound for Success or Doomed to Fail? - Strategic Licensing Considerations - New Faces - Points from the President - Think Again Before Walking Away from...more

Trademark Formats and Protectability

by Gene Bolmarcich on 11/12/2012

An illustrated outline of the various types of trademarks and trade dress and the rules applicable to their protectability requirements....more

Did SCOTUS Kill Product Design Trade Dress

by Thomas Casagrande on 11/3/2009

Did the Supreme Court's trade dress decisions in Wal-Mart v. Samara Brothers and TrafFix Displays sound the death knell for product confiuration (product design) trade dress actions under the Lanham Act? A scorecard suggests...more

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