This advanced course explores the doctrine of trade dress—a subset of trademark law that protects the overall commercial image or look and feel of a product or service. Trade dress encompasses product design, packaging, interior store layout, and other non-functional features that identify and distinguish the source of goods.
Through a focused lens, this course examines the legal framework, judicial interpretations, and policy underpinnings that govern trade dress protection under the Lanham Act. Students will analyze case law involving product packaging, restaurant ambiance, website layouts, and evolving issues in fashion, tech, and consumer goods.
This course provides an integrated understanding of how trade dress intersects with functionality doctrine, aesthetic functionality, secondary meaning, consumer confusion, and modern branding practices. Emphasis is placed on both litigation strategies and business implications of asserting or defending trade dress rights.
Course Objectives:
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
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Define trade dress and distinguish it from trademarks, copyrights, and design patents.
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Identify protectable and non-protectable trade dress elements in product design and packaging.
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Understand the legal requirements of distinctiveness, non-functionality, and likelihood of confusion.
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Apply the Lanham Act (§43(a)) and relevant case law to real-world trade dress disputes.
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Evaluate the evidentiary burdens of establishing secondary meaning and consumer recognition.
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Assess trade dress infringement claims and defenses.
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Understand the business and branding implications of trade dress rights and enforcement.
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Address contemporary challenges involving digital trade dress and global enforcement.
