Product designs that capture the attention of the marketplace not for their utility, but due to creativity, innovation or fashion cachet can be hugely valuable assets. Companies across a wide range of industries can implement creative legal strategies to protect their product designs, and should develop a strategy well before the product is introduced to the marketplace. Protection is not without its challenges, though, as the law imposes limits on what can be protected and competitors routinely flirt with the boundaries of acceptable “inspiration.”
There are three primary sources of protection for nonfunctional product designs: trade dress, copyright and design patents. As discussed below, each has its unique requirements, benefits and challenges, and each serves a specific purpose.
Trade dress
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