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Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Samara Brothers, Inc.
(U.S. Supreme Court)
Lanham Act trade-dress protection
On 3/22/00, the Supreme Court held that product design can never be an "inherently distinctive" form of unregistered trade dress and is entitled to protection under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a), only upon a showing that it has acquired a "secondary meaning" that results in identification of the product’s source. The Court distinguished product design trade dress from other forms of trade dress, including word marks and packaging, because product design trade dress, unlike other the forms, almost invariably is not intended to identify the source of the product, but rather "to render the product itself more useful or more appealing." Jones Day represented the International Mass Retail Association as amicus curiae in support of the (successful) petitioner in this case.
Lower court opinion: 165 F.3d 120 (2d Cir. 1998).
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