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Article: Trade dressed to kill: don't overlook the value of your product's overall image.(INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY)
- Article from:
- New Hampshire Business Review
- Article date:
- July 18, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Business Publications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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As a business owner, one of your most valuable assets is the image of your goods or services--your product. This image is conveyed by the combined look of the product, its packaging and your place of business, collectively its "trade dress"--a term derived from the concept that the product is "dressed-up" for your customers.
Classic examples of valuable, and protectable, trade dress include the curved shape of the old Coca-Cola bottle and the pinched shape of the Haig & Haig scotch bottle, the red and yellow box of Kodak film, the decor of a Two Pesos restaurant and the facade of a White Castle restaurant. Business owners seeking to protect the designations of ...