The Cult of the Copycat: Protecting Your Brand’s Look and Feel with Trade Dress Trademarks

Show Notes

If a competitor opens up down the street with the same color scheme, the same layout, the same vibe, and just a different name, is that legal? Maybe not.

Today Julie King of King Patent Law, PLLC, covers trade dress: the intellectual property protection that most small business owners have never heard of, which can protect everything that makes your business visually distinctive, above and beyond your name and logo.

In this episode:

• What trade dress is and what it protects, from packaging to restaurant interiors to color combinations
• The two legal requirements: distinctiveness and non-functionality
• Four real cases, including a brand-new 2025 decision and two trips to the Supreme Court
• How to register your trade dress (and when it’s worth it)
• A six-step practical sequence to start protecting your visual identity now

I have a handy free downloadable Is It Trade Dress? checklist on my website – check it out!

Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro: The Look That Gets Copied
(03:07) What Is Trade Dress?
(04:54) Louboutin and the Red Sole: When a Color Becomes a Brand Identifier
(05:57) Miracle-Gro vs. Spruce: When Green and Yellow Belong to Everyone
(08:06) The Two Requirements: #1 - Distinctiveness
(09:19) Crystal Head Vodka vs Element Spirits Tequila – Battle of the Skull Bottles
(09:38) The Two Requirements: #2 – Nonfunctionality
(11:00) Gibson Guitars: The Flying V Is Ok, But Is The Les Paul Single Cutaway Shape Functionality A Problem?
(11:36) Two Pesos v. Taco Cabana: The Supreme Court Case That Defined It All
(13:00) Bad Spaniels: Dog Toy, Jack Daniel’s, and the Parody Problem – You Can Dilute a Whiskey Brand By Tarnishment Just Like You Can Dilute the Whiskey With Dirty Ice
(15:36) Registration: What It Takes and When It’s Worth It
(16:58) Six Steps to Protect Your Visual Identity
(20:03) Key Takeaways
(21:40) FAQ Time! #1 – Can I protect my website design as a trade dress trademark?
(22:11) FAQ #2 – What is the difference between trade dress trademarks and word or image trademarks?
(22:36) – FAQ #3 – How is trade dress trademark protection different from copyright?
(23:09) – FAQ #4 – Can someone use my trade dress in a parody?
(24:09) – FAQ #5 – Does trade dress trademark registration make sense for a small business?
(24:38) How to work with Julie and how this is not legal advice.

Avoid the legal horrors, and keep rocking your IP.

Full transcript and more resources at ⁠⁠kingpatentlaw.com/blog⁠

Related episode: The Two-Headed Monster of Design IP: Combining Patents and Trademarks for Lifelong Protection: Spotify link; Apple Podcasts link; YouTube link; blog post w/ video link
📱 @kingpatentlaw on social media platforms (NOT X)

Ready to protect your brand and business? Book a consultation at kingpatentlaw.com⁠. We serve intellectual property clients nationwide and business and estate planning clients in Illinois.

Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only, is not legal advice, and does not form an attorney-client relationship. For advice about your specific situation, consult with a licensed attorney. Contains attorney advertisement material. Julie King | King Patent Law, PLLC | 301 N Neil St Ste 400, Champaign IL 61820. Phone and email available at kingpatentlaw.com

What is Avoid the Legal Horrors with Julie King: Patent, Trademark, and Business Strategy?

Your business has IP worth protecting. Your brand deal contract may be signing it away. Your AI tools may not be as confidential as you think. I'm Julie King, a patent, IP, & business attorney with 25+ years of experience, and I make intellectual property and business law actually interesting—with a rock-and-horror twist. Patents, trademarks, copyright, trade secrets, brand deals, and business law for small business owners and creators. No jargon. No condescension. Just the stuff you actually need to know. Avoid the legal horrors and keep rocking your IP. 💀🎸
Contact info at kingpatentlaw.