1pIP: Trade Dress
Trade dress rights protect the packaging (or “dressing”) of a product in the same way that a trademark protects a product’s markings. Trade dress helps notify the public about who makes or sells the goods that they purchase, and has been described...
1pIP: Marking Your Territory: Virtual Patent Marking
United States patent law requires a patent holder to provide actual or constructive notice to the public of its utility patents in order to recover damages for infringement of a product patent. 35 U.S.C. § 287(a). Although the marking requirement...
Here & Now: Trademarks and the “Failure to Function” Doctrine
Trademark law can be confusing when it comes to determining whether a particular word, phrase, or design may be registered as a trademark. Almost every week seems to bring another story about an aspiring entrepreneur attempting to register the...
1pIP: Claiming Trademark Rights to Colors
Trademarks and service marks identify and distinguish goods or services sold by one person or business from those of another. They are a primary component of marketing strategies and advertising campaigns to establish and strengthen their owner’s...
1pIP: How Can Copyrights Protect My Work?
Copyrights protect “original works of authorship.” This includes literature, music, plays, and other types of artistic works. Copyright protection arises automatically the moment that a work is created—the first time it appears in a fixed form. ...