"Most of the issued patents cited in this brief have expired, meaning that the disclosed features are in the public domain. To conclude that [Timberland] can strip the public's right to copy and benefit from these features today would be antithetical to the pro-competitive objectives of both trademark and patent law."
TBL Licensing v. Vidal, 2022 WL 17573906, at *5 (E.D. Va. Dec. 8, 2022).
h/t @ TTABlog: http://thettablog.blogspot.com/2022/12/ed-va-affirms-ttab-timberland-boot.html
#Trademarks #TradeDress #Litigation #Functionality #LimitedTimes
#trademarks #tradedress #litigation #functionality #limitedtimes