Functionality doctrine: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:08, 10 July 2012

Revision as of 05:08, 10 July 2012

Line 1:

{{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.<ref>[http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/functionality_doctrine_trademark Functionality doctrine] at [[Wex]], from the [[Legal Information Institute]]</ref> This separates trademarks from [[patent]]s &mdash; 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 doctrine is that product markets would not be truly competitive if newcomers could not make product with a feature that consumers demand.