Trade Dress Law and Legal Definition
Trade dress is a product’s design, product packaging, color, or other distinguishing nonfunctional element of appearance. Following the case Blue Bell Bio-Medical v. Cin-Bad, Inc., 864 F.2d 1253, 1256 (5th Cir. Tex. 1989), the “trade dress” of a product is essentially its total image and overall appearance. Trade dress signifies the source of product to the customers. Trade dress protection is intended to protect consumers from packaging or appearance of products that are designed to imitate other products and to prevent a consumer from buying one product under the belief that it is another.
