CincyIP February 2017 Luncheon
Join us on February 21st at The Cincinnatian Hotel to discuss:
Anatomy of a Product Design Trade Dress Case: Courts Continue to Consider Convoluted Controversies
Ken Germain and Glenn Bellamy, both of Wood Herron & Evans, LLP, will discuss how courts labor to apply trade dress and utility patent concepts in difficult cases that call into question the relationship between these two forms of intellectual property.
Federal courts at all levels—including the Supreme Court in landmark cases decided early in the 21st Century (Wal-Mart, 2000; TrafFix, 2001)—have struggled to define, then to delineate, what constitutes valid/protectable “product design trade dress.” This task encompasses concepts of distinctiveness (via “secondary meaning”) and non-functionality, the latter presenting difficult legal and factual determinations. Those courts also have grappled with concerns about how patent law protections might preclude separate trade dress protection for “designs” (including color combinations and product configurations) that often qualify as registered and/or unregistered trademarks.
After refreshing recollections of these particular issues, trademark lawyer/professor Ken Germain will summarize relevant Circuit Court cases from the most recent few years. Then, Mr. Germain and Mr. Bellamy, a patent attorney, will discuss the specific issues they are facing in their roles as prospective expert witnesses in a pending federal case focusing on color combination/configuration of goods.
Additional information regarding Mr. Germain and Mr. Bellamy is available at the CincyIP event page.