Functionality doctrine: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:20, 25 June 2007

Revision as of 05:16, 30 July 2007

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{{intellectual property}}

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 (business)|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.