Second Circuit Clarifies Standards for Unregistered Trade Dress Claims – A Welcome Trend Bucking the Difficulty and Uncertainty of Obtaining USPTO Registration
March 24, 2025 – New York Law JournalMilton Springut and Barry Werbin, attorneys in Herrick's Intellectual Property and Technology Group, authored an article for the New York Law Journal discussing two recent decisions made by the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit that could indicate a shift towards a more liberal judicial treatment of claims involving unregistered trade dress at the pleading stage, giving plaintiffs possible early settlement leverage if they can successfully navigate motions to dismiss.
Milton and Barry noted that "these decisions potentially offer a more strategic path than pursuing the challenging and time-consuming process of obtaining United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) registration for packaging and product design trade dress — protection that has become increasingly difficult to secure in recent years."
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Reprinted with permission from the March 24, 2025, edition of the New York Law Journal © 2025 ALM Global Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited, contact 877-256-2472 or [email protected].