The Effect of Utility Patents on Trade Dress Protection Claims

The Seventh Circuit's recent decision in <i>Specialized Seating v. Greenwich Industries, L.P.</i>, highlights several important considerations that are often overlooked by counsel representing clients who claim trade dress rights in product designs. Paramount among those considerations is the effect that claims in a utility patent can have on the availability of trade dress protection.

21 minute readOctober 28, 2010 at 12:25 PM
By
James W. Faris
The Effect of Utility Patents on Trade Dress Protection Claims

The functionality doctrine in trademark law denies trade dress protection to product features that contribute to the utility of the product. “[A] product feature is functional, and cannot serve as

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