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Does this count as a trade dress and is it protected under the extent of a trademark?
I am the owner of a small business that manufactures and sells a microbrew. We take great pride in our product and have created a very loyal following that recognizes our distinctive blue glass bottles and brown label design. Does this count as a trade dress and is it protected under the extent of a trademark?
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Answers (1)
A “trade dress” is a legal term that generally refers to characteristics of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging that signifies the source of the product to consumers, and is a form of intellectual property.
In the United States, a product’s trade dress is legally protected by the Lanham act, which regulates trademarks and trade dress. The trade dress protection is intended to protect consumers from imitation products. A trade dress may be registered with the US Patent and Trademark office in either the principal register or supplemental register, although registration is not required for legal protection. This is unlike the registration and application requirements for enforcing other forms of intellectual property, such as patents. The benefits of the Principal Register are that it prevents others from using or registering the trade dress. Registration in the Supplemental Register protects a trade dress in foreign countries.
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Posted by Jason Tong on 03 Mar 2010
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