THE AESTHETIC FUNCTIONALITY DOCTRINE AND THE LAW OF TRADE - DRESS PROTECTION Mitchell

INTRODUCTION ................................................. 1117 I. THE LAW OF TRADE-DRESS PROTECTION .................. 1121 A. Purposes of Trade-Dress Law ....................... 1121 1. Protection of Firms from Misassociation ............. 1124 2. Prevention of Goodwill Misappropriation ............ 1125 3. Facilitation of Meaningful Consumer Participation in the M arket ....................................... 1126 4. Encouragement of Production of High-Quality Products ......................................... 1127 B. The Lanham Act and Related State Remedies ...... 1128 II. THE "IDENTIFICATION" THEORY OF FUNCTIONALrIY AND ITS TESTS ................................................... 1132 A. The "Identification" Theory ........................ 1132 B. Four Tests Under the Identification Theory ........ 1134 1. The "Indicia of Source" Test ....................... 1134 2. The 'Actual Benefit" Test ......................... 1136 3. The "Consumer Motivation" Test .................. 1138 4. The "Commercial Success" Test ..................... 1140 C. Why These Tests Belong Under the Identification Theory ............................................. 1141 Ill. THE "COMPETION" THEORY OF FuNCrIONALITY AND ITS TESTS ................................................... 1142 A. The "Competition" Theory ......................... 1142