A bottle of TROPICANA orange juice served as the test subject for assessing the various types of protection brand owners may want to seek for their products. Panelists concluded that the possible protections to be considered for the product included copyright (for the graphics on the bottle’s label), design patent (for the overall ornamental design of the bottle), utility patent (for the neck, bottle material and waist) and trademark (for the trade dress).
However, the extent to which owners should be able to combine these rights is controversial. For example, if a product formerly covered by a utility or design patent is eligible for trade dress protection after the patent has expired, “what is the inventor really giving to the public?” asked panelist David Young of Goodwin Procter.
