News & Analysis as of

Functionality Appeals Intellectual Property Protection

Knobbe Martens

Traffix Jam – Technical Functionality Prevents Trademark Protection for the Color Pink

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CERAMTEC GMBH v. COORSTEK BIOCERAMICS LLC - Before Lourie, Taranto, and Stark.  Appeal from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. A utility patent may still be considered strong...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Sole Searching: Trade Dress Hopes Booted as Functional, Nondistinctive

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The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court’s summary judgment grant in a trademark dispute, finding that the district court did not err in concluding that a subset of design elements lacked...more

McDermott Will & Emery

There’s No Sugarcoating It: Pocky’s Cookie Design Trade Dress Is Functional

Addressing for the second time whether the design of a chocolate-dipped, stick-shaped cookie was eligible for trade dress protection, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held again that the product configuration was...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Cookie Trade Dress Infringement Case Crumbles in Face of Functionality Challenge

McDermott Will & Emery on

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

Cream and Sugar with That? French Press Trade Dress Is Nonfunctional, Protectable

In confirming that the unregistered trade dress of the Chambord French press coffeemaker was nonfunctional, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s determination that plaintiff’s...more

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