TBL Licensing, LLC v. USPTO - International Trademark Association

Court

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

Our Position

The District Court’s reasoning in foreclosing protection for the Timberland Icon Boot design is inconsistent with the statutory mandate as well as decisions of the Fourth Circuit and other courts that in assessing functionality designs be assessed “as a whole.” Although INTA takes no position whether the design is functional or has acquired secondary meaning, INTA believes that the District Court here incorrectly dissected the subject design into constituent elements, each of which it determined was functional, without analyzing whether the design as a whole creates an appearance warranting protection under the Lanham Act.

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Topics Lanham Act United States