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Patenting for Inventors Ep. 152: Can a Fancy Leg Stand on Its Own as a Trademark? The Recent Case of In re Kason
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🎙 Hosted by Adam Diament, Registered Patent Attorney | Partner, Nolan Heimann LLP
A telescoping metal leg walks into the USPTO and says, “Trademark me!” The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board says... no.
In this episode, Adam breaks down the real-life case of In re Kason, where a company tried to register a restaurant leg design as a trademark. Kason had a design patent and utility patent, but ran into trouble when trying to get trademark protection for the same product shape.
🦵 Why? Because trademark law has a different (and stricter) definition of functionality than design patent law.
💡 Even pretty or well-known designs can get rejected if they offer functional benefits or lack acquired distinctiveness.
📌 In this episode:
– The difference between design patents and trade dress
– The functionality tests in trademark law
– Why Kason’s own patent hurt its trademark claim
– What counts as proof that consumers associate a shape with your brand
– The importance of secondary meaning and serious marketing
And yes—Adam uses examples from soup spoons to Yelpers who love legs.
📱 Have a product design you want to protect? Call Adam at 424-281-0162
💼 Visit nolanheimann.com/podcast for more
Until next time: Keep on inventing.
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