What is trade dress infringement?

Trade dress infringement is a type of intellectual property law violation that applies to businesses in California. Trade dress is the “total image of a product or its packaging,” which includes the size, shape, color, and design of the product. Trade dress infringement occurs when another business copies the trade dress of another business in order to confuse customers and draw business away from the original business. One example of trade dress infringement is when a business sells a product that looks almost identical to a competitor’s product. If a business copies the size, shape, or design of a competitor’s product, and uses it to draw customers away from the original business, then this is considered trade dress infringement. In order to protect their own trade dress, businesses in California are encouraged to register them as trademarks. This can be done through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Once a business has registered their trade dress as a trademark, then it is illegal for any other business to copy their trade dress without their permission. If a business in California is guilty of trade dress infringement, then the original business can take legal action against them in order to protect their rights. The original business may be entitled to monetary damages, or the infringing business may have to stop using the trade dress in question.

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