Are you considering seeking trademark registration for the shape, color, design, configuration, or even the overall appearance of your product? Or do you want to assess potential challenges of your unregistered trademark? If so, you may want to consider if your desired mark is serving a functional purpose prior to applying for trademark registration. Under the Lanham Act, the federal law that governs trademarks, if a product feature is functional, it is ineligible for trademark protection. [1] Types of Functionality There are two types of functionality that courts may consider when denying protection on functionality grounds – utilitarian functionality and aesthetic functionality. Utilitarian functionality, sometimes called mechanical functionality, refers to features that impact the way a product works or is manufactured. All courts will deny protection if a product feature serve...
The Problem: Managing Liability Across Different Ventures Many business owners manage multiple ventures. This often entails dealing with different types of risks and liabilities. Whether selling different lines of products or operating multiple services within a business, it is really important to keep liabilities isolated to protect assets. For example, consider a business owner who owns both a restaurant and a catering business. In the event that a customer sued the restaurant for something like a slip-and-fall accident, the owner’s catering business could also be at risk if the ventures are not legally separated. Without proper legal structures, a lawsuit or financial issue affecting one part of the business could easily spill over, putting the entire business at risk. For this reason, business owners should look for ways to separate liability across their ventures and ensure that issues in one area don't threaten the stability and success of the others. Liab...