Open AccessINTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS ON TRADE DRESS: FEATURES AND GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
Author(s) -
Maryna Utkina,
Inna Savytska
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
pravovì gorizonti
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2519-2353
DOI - 10.21272/legalhorizons.2019.i19.p49
Subject(s) - intellectual property , originality , business , product (mathematics) , element (criminal law) , reputation , competitor analysis , goods and services , trademark , profit (economics) , marketing , advertising , law and economics , economics , law , political science , creativity , market economy , geometry , mathematics , microeconomics
The article is devoted to a topical issue that is being discussed by foreign and domesticscientists and business entities – trade dress. This issue has been sharply raised by the owners, in particular the developers of the individual design of their product and its packaging or services. Recently, exactly trade dress is very difficult to protect, especially when competitors or other individuals, who want to profit from someone else’s intellectual property, use it for their own purposes. This affects the reputation of the manufacturer, leading to a decrease in the number of goods sold, which has been “unique” for consumers and now is just simply one of many others that has the same design, color combination, or product form. The article defines the concept of trade dress, describes its main features and functions that it performs, being an important element of the brand. In addition, there was analyzed the case law in Ukraine concerning the protection of the plaintiff’s intellectual property right to corporate identity. The legislative status of such a concept in the US and its regulation have also been investigated. Having analyzed the main characteristics of the trade dress, its specific features were identified, defining it as an independent key element of the brand that cannot be equaled. The main feature can be called the uniqueness and originality of style, which aims to individualize the goods or services of a particular entity. Another feature is the new commercial style that distinguishes a product or service from others, making it more visible to the consumer. The core features of corporate identity can essentially be deduced from the very content of the concept, which focuses on identifying, advertising, and demonstrating the ability to trust the manufacturer by consumers who have already purchased a product or service.The Law of Ukraine “On Protection against Unfair Competition” was also investigated, which in fact lays the foundations for protecting the trade dress of a product or service in Ukraine. Therefore, it can be considered that in this area Ukraine has great potential that will lead to full legal regulation of the notion of “trade dress” and possibly define a complete procedure for its protection.Keywords: trade dress; uniqueness; goods; trademark; regulation; design; entity.