Trademark infringement means that a valuable piece of intellectual property has been violated by a third party. A company may have a trademark on a certain product, but another company illegally copies its design and begins to sell knockoff products. This costs the original company in sales and can damage their reputation, so it may seek restitution in court.
Trade dress infringement is similar, but it refers to the appearance of the item. In historic usage, this typically meant the packaging, marketing materials and other elements that would be used to “dress up” the product while it was going to market. But in modern usage, it can also include a product that is clearly designed to look like the competition.
Why would a company do this?
The problem with trade dress infringement is that it is usually done to cause consumer confusion. The company that is infringing on that intellectual property is doing so with the intent of making sales that they otherwise would not have made.
For example, say that a company makes desktop computers with a very distinctive type of case and styling. If another company copied that style, they may be accused of trade dress infringement. Even if they designed their own computers and did not technically infringe on the design or any patents that the original company held, copying the aesthetic design is still a way to try to draw consumers into buying those products through fraudulent means. A consumer may be deceived into believing that they are buying a computer from the original company.
These cases can be complex, especially because many products do have a similar appearance. It is important to understand exactly what steps to take when navigating this type of legal dispute.