Trade dress is an extension of trademark protection to "[t]he design and shape of the materials in which a product is packaged, [primarily].
In the United States, the Lanham Act protects trade dress if it serves the same source-identifying function as a trademark.
[1] For example, the shape, color, and arrangement of the materials of a children's line of clothing can be protectable trade dress (though, the design of the garments themselves is not protected),[4] as can the design of a magazine cover,[5] the appearance and décor of a chain of Mexican-style restaurants,[6] and a method of displaying wine bottles in a wine shop.
[8] Under section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, a product's trade dress can be protected without formal registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
[16] To gain registration in the Principal Register or common law protection under the Lanham Act, a trade dress must not be "functional".
That is, the configuration of shapes, designs, colors, or materials that make up the trade dress in question must not serve a utility or function outside of creating recognition in the consumer's mind.
To gain registration in the Principal Register or common law protection under the Lanham Act, a trade dress must be "distinctive."
In SG Services, Inc. v. God's Girls, Inc., the United States District Court for the District of Oregon denied trade dress protection for the plaintiff's website because the plaintiff did not demonstrate that the website was non-functional or distinctive.
[23][24] Although Chinese law does not recognize a concept of trade dress, the Anti-Unfair Competition Law (反不正当竞争法) does protect the packaging, decoration, or appearance of a "well-known commodity"; this provision accomplishes something similar to trade dress protections.