Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Intellectual Property Law

Marquette University Law School

2006

Trade Dress

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Law

Continuing Commercial Impression: Applications And Measurement , Gideon Mark, Jacob Jacoby Jul 2006

Continuing Commercial Impression: Applications And Measurement , Gideon Mark, Jacob Jacoby

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

This Article examines applications and measurement of continuing commercial impression, which is the meaning or idea a trademark or trade dress conveys to consumers. The doctrine is relevant in a variety of contexts, including abandonment, tacking, claim preclusion, and the Morehouse defense. A number of courts considering the issue have concluded that continuing commercial impression is a pure question of law. This article argues that such a view is incorrect, and that the doctrine should present a mixed question of law and fact. In determining whether continuing commercial impression exists, the sole factor should not be the visual or aural …


Conditioning Functionality: Untangling The Divergent Strands Of Argument Evidenced By Recent Case Law And Commentary , Justin Pats Jul 2006

Conditioning Functionality: Untangling The Divergent Strands Of Argument Evidenced By Recent Case Law And Commentary , Justin Pats

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

The protection of trade dress has become increasingly clouded in recent years. A forcethe functionality doctrinehas been implemented to police this intersection between patent and trademark law. Unfortunately, courts have struggled to arrive at a common definition of functionality. This comment examines the functionality doctrine and proposes a four-factor decay test as a uniform approach to functionality. The test asks the following questions regarding a product feature: (1) Is it essential to the use or purpose of the article?; (2) Does it have any current market effect on the cost or quality of the article?; (3) Is there a significant …