Trade Dress Case Study

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Trade dress is a form of intellectual property. It denotes the visual appearance of a product and its features which may include its packaging, shape, combination of colors which may be registered and protected from being used by various competitors with relation to their business and services. The characteristic of the product includes their shape (3 dimensional), packaging, color, graphic design of the product. In Qualitex Co. v. Jacobson Products Co., Inc. , the U.S Supreme Court confirmed that The Lanham Act defines the universe of things that can be eligible as a trademark "in the widest terms" and that people might use "almost anything at all that is capable of signifying as a "mark" or "device", used to define trademarks in The Lanham…show more content…
In addition to the physical appearance of a product, trade dress may also comprises of the manner in which a product is packaged, wrapped, labelled, presented, promoted, or advertised, including the use of distinctive graphics, configuration, and marketing strategies. In Intellectual property law, a cause of action for trade dress infringement may arise when the trade dress of two businesses insufficiently similar to cause confusion among consumers. In such situations the business with the more established or recognizable trade dress will ordinarily…show more content…
The statutory requirement for the registration of trade dress is same as that of the registration is word/ logo mark. 1.3 The Lanham Act The concept of Trade dress has originated from the US legislation commonly known as The Lanham Act also known as Trademark Act 1946. Under section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, a product's trade dress can be protected without formal registration with the PTO (Patent Trademark Office). In relevant part, section 43(a) states the following: "Any person who, on or in connection with any goods or services, or any container for goods, uses in commerce any word, term, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof, or any false designation of origin, false or misleading description of fact, or false or misleading representation of fact, which (A) is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval of his or her goods, services, or commercial activities by another person, or (B) in commercial advertising or promotion, misrepresents the nature, characteristics, qualities, or geographic origin of his or her or another person's goods, services, or commercial activities, shall be liable in a civil action by any person who believes that he or she is likely to be damaged by such an
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