Protecting and Enforcing Unique Nontraditional Marks Via Trade Dress, Design Patent, and Copyright in the United States

Today’s innovative products are part of a globalized economy. But those products must be protected under different IP regimes in each country, demanding that companies develop specific strategies for safeguarding brands and products across borders of many nations. Strategies for obtaining and enforcing the rights to protect these types of intellectual property vary widely across countries, but a cohesive strategy is necessary to provide full protection. In this seminar, we will discuss:

• How to identify protectable trademarks, trade dress (including “nontraditional” marks, like color, sound, motion, and scent), and designs in the United States and Europe

• Practical advice for cost-effective registration and protection

• Strategies—and pitfalls—for using various IP schemes to complement each other

• A comparison of design patent protection in the United States and design registration in Europe

• A comparison of available customs proceedings to enforce design protection rights in the United States and Europe

• Litigating trade dress and design cases before U.S. judges and juries

• Strategies for coordination of global enforcement efforts to protect valuable brands and products

New developments in the United States and Europe in design and trademark protection:

• The UK Intellectual Property Act 2014 and significant changes to design law

• The rising prominence of design patent infringement in the United States

• The Convergence Program, Fast Tracking and other trademark developments and decisions in Europe

• Recent trends on what U.S. courts deem protectable (and unprotectable) trade dress