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Trademarks › Trade Dress › Design Patent

A Trademark is a legally registered distinctive mark or sign which identifies goods, products or services that originate or are associated with a particular person or enterprise . A typical example of a trademark... more +
A Trademark is a legally registered distinctive mark or sign which identifies goods, products or services that originate or are associated with a particular person or enterprise . A typical example of a trademark would be a company's logo such as the Nike "Check" or McDonald's "Golden Arches."  less -
Quarles & Brady LLP

Protecting the Product: Beauty Products

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The beauty industry is ever changing, and makeup trends and viral product releases can drastically increase a company’s profits.  However, without proper legal protection, competitors can quickly replicate a product, eating...more

Polsinelli

Design Patent vs. Trade Dress: Strategic Considerations for Protecting Product Designs

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Product designs often serve as the cornerstone of a brand’s identity, evoking instant recognition and loyalty among consumers. From the iconic silhouette of Coca-Cola’s glass bottle to the distinctive shape of Gibson guitars,...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

U.S. Supreme Court Alert: If you copy an unpatented furniture design, does that help prove that the design was iconic and...

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Furniture manufacturer admits intentionally copying designs, asks Supreme Court, What does copying really say about trademark status of design? While offering a new design for sale without obtaining a patent often means...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

Trade Dress Rights Asserted in Chandelier Cloud Configuration

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A New York-based design studio has filed a Federal lawsuit asserting infringement of one of its “most prominent and coveted products”; namely, a frosted glass orb chandelier. According to the complaint filed August 8, 2023,...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - September 2023: How Design Patents Can Complement Brands' Trademark Portfolios

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Many brand owners are familiar with the value of registered trademarks, which safeguard the goodwill cultivated between mark holders and consumers by reducing confusion as to the source of the associated goods. However,...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - September 2023

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Thank you for reading the September 2023 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss the significant revisions to the FTC's guidelines for endorsements and examine the benefits of design...more

Vondran Legal

Don’t Forget to Protect Your Product Packaging and Product Designs With IP

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Your products and product designs are the life blood of your business. However, many companies don’t think about protecting their creative product designs, and product packaging with intellectual property registrations. This...more

Pierce Atwood LLP

IP Rights in Virtual Fashion: Lessons Learned in 2022 and Unanswered Questions

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There was a lot of talk and much hype about the “metaverse” in 2022. While some were skeptical and stayed on the sidelines to watch, many companies began offering virtual counterparts to their real-world products for use by...more

Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig PLLC

What are the Types of Trademarks

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Most people think of a “trademark” as a word or a logo. But, what is a “trademark?” can be a surprisingly complicated question and by far supersedes most people’s imagination....more

Quarles & Brady LLP

Protecting Product and Packaging Designs in China Part I – Trademarks

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Like the United States, China offers protection for 2D and 3D designs of products and packaging, which is often known by U.S. consumers and practitioners as “trade dress.” This four-part miniseries of posts provides a...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

TTAB Cancels Registration For Gun Barrel Trade Dress On Grounds Of Functionality

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On May 20, 2021, the TTAB issued a lengthy and comprehensive precedential opinion canceling Proof Research, Inc.’s registration for the trade dress of a gun barrel (as shown below) on grounds of de jure functionality under...more

Haug Partners LLP

“That’s the way the cookie crumbles!” Third Circuit Court of Appeals Considers Differences Between Trade Dress and Patent...

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In Ezaki Glico Kabushiki Kaisha v. Lotte International America Corp., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit considered a trade dress infringement dispute between two confectioners. Ezaki Glico (“Ezaki”), a Japanese...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Cookie Trade Dress Infringement Case Crumbles in Face of Functionality Challenge

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The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit found that trade dress protection did not extend to the design of a chocolate-dipped, stick-shaped cookie, because the product configuration was useful. Ezaki Glico Kabushiki...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Knock It Off, Knockoffs? Ninth Circuit Affirms Trade Dress Rights but Not Fame

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Taking on issues of functionality and fame relating to trade dress rights, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s judgment after a jury trial on claims of...more

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Conveyor Belt Fastener Design Held Not Eligible for Trade Dress Protection

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In Flexible Steel Lacing Co. v. Conveyor Accessories Inc., the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a conveyor belt fastener’s “beveled center scallop” design was not entitled to trade dress protection because it was...more

Vedder Price

The Seventh Circuit Addresses the Use of Utility Patents as Evidence of Functionality of Trade Dress

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On June 12, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit decided Bodum USA, Inc. v. A Top New Casting Inc., No. 18-3030, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 17555 (7th Cir. June 12, 2019). The case, led by Vedder Price...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Brand Protection: Looking Beyond Trademarks to A Broader Arsenal of Intellectual Property Tools

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Manufacturers may assume that protection of their brands can only be achieved through trademark protection of names, logos, and slogans. In fact, a broad arsenal of intellectual property tools is available to ensure that...more

Knobbe Martens

The Crown Jewels: How to Protect Your Jewelry Designs

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Knock-offs and ‘copycat’ designs are nothing new to the fashion world. The rising demand for “fast fashion” and bargain hunting alike make knock-offs particularly attractive to the consumer’s insatiable appetite. This trend...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

MarkIt to Market® - September 2018: When the Other Shoe Drops – Keep Calm and (Trade) Dress Up

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Design patents are often the go-to option for protecting the visual features, or design, of a product. But design patent protection is not always available, such as after the product has been on sale, offered for sale, or...more

Knobbe Martens

Panel on IP Valuation: How Much is it Worth? How Much Can You Get? How Can You Protect It?

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Assessing Damages in Patent Litigation - Patent Damages - • Damages for infringement shall be “adequate to compensate for the infringement, but in no event less than a reasonable royalty for the use made of the...more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

Aesthetic Functionality – Design Patents in the Clear (For Now)

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The aesthetic-functionality doctrine is a concept in trademark law that can preclude trademark protection for elements of trade dress deemed to be aesthetically pleasing; the doctrine can come into play when a trade dress...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Hey, Batter Batter! – Lizard Skins Goes to Bat over its Grip Tape Designs

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It’s finally the start of baseball season: you can almost feel the gentle spring breeze, smell the peanuts and popcorn, and hear the crack of the bat. You may also notice something more colorful, dotted, and perhaps...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

“Sleevey Wonders” are “Arm Tight” in California Lawsuit

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The women’s hosiery powerhouse, Spanx, is being sued for allegedly copying designs of a small shapewear company (R and A Synergy, LLC, v. Spanx, Inc., (C.D. Cal. 2017)). In the Complaint filed on December 21, 2017 in the...more

Knobbe Martens

These Boots Are Made For Walkin’: Trade Dress and the Distinctive Look of a Boot Sole

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Airwair, the owner of the Dr. Martens brand, recently launched a series of lawsuits in the Northern District of California to enforce the trade dress of its “iconic boots and shoes.” One lawsuit was filed in October against...more

Womble Bond Dickinson

Design Patents and Trade Dress

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I often get asked by clients to discuss the differences between design patents and trade dress. Both are intellectual property protections that protect similar aspects of a product—the appearance and aesthetic features. Last...more

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