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How to protect your product and packaging designs |
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Written by Felix Da Silva (fdasilva@bitnip.com)
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Sunday, 02 December 2007 |
 Imitation may be a form of flattery, but when it involves the look and feel of a product or package, a concept known as trade dress, the repercussions can be serious.
In this very well written and informative article from the WSJ, it states that the problem is that many businesses don't understand how easily the appearance of
products and packaging can be legally copied, so they fail to develop and
protect trade dress as they do other trademarks.
Here are a couple of key points from that article:
- The authors advise laying the groundwork early, well before imitation occurs.
- Apply to register that trade dress with the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office, then quickly advertise the link between "the look" and the
brand to establish the distinctiveness needed to complete the registration.
- The more unique the look of a product or package, the more likely buyers are to
associate it with a single brand.
- After finding a style that stands out, companies can protect the look in the
same way they protect a trademark, if the style meets the criteria for a trademark, through the USPTO.
They also go into the requirements of trademark and the idea of distinctiveness. Distinctiveness can be inherent or acquired and they provide examples and cases for each one.
Have a read of this interesting and easy to read article on how to protect your product and packaging designs.
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