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Product Designs and Packaging Protection: Leveraging Trade Dress, Design Patent and Copyright

Overcoming the Challenges of Protecting the Look and Feel of Products and Packaging

Recording of a 90-minute premium CLE video webinar with Q&A

This program is included with the Strafford CLE Pass. Click for more information.
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Conducted on Thursday, November 18, 2021

Recorded event now available

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This CLE course will guide IP counsel on protecting product designs and packaging. The panel will review current case law and discuss the unique challenges of packaging and product design protection and the options available to overcome them. The panel will provide practical guidance for leveraging the options available and protecting the appearance of products and packaging.

Description

Product design and packaging are an essential part of a company's operations. The distinctive look and feel of a product, its packaging, or the appearance of a retail establishment associated with a particular service identify the source of that product or service to consumers. As a result, companies must protect the design and packaging of those products.

Copyright law, trade dress law, and design patent law can be used to protect the look of a product in the U.S. Copyright law protects the expression of an idea but does not protect functional elements. Design patent can protect the design, but it must be novel and non-obvious and approved by the USPTO. Also, design patent protection is for 15 years. Trade dress may offer the most powerful tool, but the design must be distinctive, such that consumers would only associate it with that one source or company. The trade dress also has to pass the high bar of being non-functional.

IP counsel must weigh the pros and cons of the various options to protect product design and packaging by determining the best avenue to take.

Listen as our authoritative panel of IP attorneys discusses the unique challenges of packaging and product design protection and the options available to overcome them. The panel will discuss when to consider the various options available to protect product designs and packaging. The panel will provide practical guidance for leveraging the options available and protecting the appearance of products and packaging.

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Outline

  1. Unique challenges posed by packaging and product design protection
  2. Options to overcome those challenges
    1. Trade dress
    2. Design patent
    3. Copyright
  3. Best practices for leveraging the various options and protecting appearances of both products and packaging

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • What are the unique challenges that product design and packaging present?
  • What are the lessons from recent decisions about protecting product design and packaging?
  • What steps can counsel take to increase their chances of obtaining IP protection for product design and packaging?

Faculty

Carani, Christopher
Christopher V. Carani

Shareholder
McAndrews Held & Malloy

Mr. Carani is nationally recognized in the field of design law, regarding the protection and enforcement of aesthetic...  |  Read More

Saidman, Perry
Perry Saidman

Of Counsel
Saidman Design Law Group

Mr. Saidman is a pioneer in the field of design law, successfully representing clients in groundbreaking cases that...  |  Read More

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