Design and its Legal Protection
Ming Li · Journal of Zhengzhou University · 2000
As a subject of intellectual property,design is a special one.While design is an invention in the context of patent law,it is also an expression of aesthetic idea,which falls into the subjects of copyright.After it became distinctive or acquired secondary meaning in the market,it may be protected by trademark law as a trademark,or by unfair competition law as a trade dress. the design concerns patent law,copyright law,trademark law and unfair competition law.A design and a package may be protected by patent law,but the package may only be protected by unfair competition law after it became distinctive in the mardet.