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In [[United States trademark law]], the '''functionality doctrine''' prevents [[manufacturer]]s from protecting specific features of a product by means of [[trademark]] law. This separates trademarks from [[patent]]s — trademarks serve to protect a [[business|firm]]'s [[reputation]] and [[goodwill]], whereas patents serve to protect processes, [[machine]]s, and material [[invention]]s.
If a feature gives a producer a competitive advantage which is not related entirely to its function as a [[brand]] identifier, then it cannot be trademarked. The rationale behind this doctine is that product markets would not be truly competitive if newcomers could not make product with a feature that consumers demand.
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