In product design, you’ve got to be careful where you draw your inspiration from.

Those smart, beautiful product shapes you‘d love to mimic might be guarded by teams of vicious IP lawyers.

Coca-Cola‘s contour bottle is so protected that no other beverage makers can use similar curves, even for completely different products. It’s not only registered as a trademark, but also protected by a much rarer design patent.

These “trade dress” protections are something else.

Toblerone‘s triangular mountain peaks are beyond eye-catching: they are legally untouchable.

The Hershey’s Kiss shape (including that little tissue-paper plume) is vigorously defended intellectual property.

And it goes beyond structural shapes.

Burberry owns its check pattern.

Canada Goose‘s Arctic disc is protected. (I know … it’s a circular patch!!!)

Jack Daniel’s square bottle with its black label is SO distinctive that the Supreme Court recently upheld the distillery’s case against a dog toy company making parody versions. (Despite that parodies are famous for getting unmatched freedom in IP cases.)

Nike‘s visible Air bubble changed athletic footwear forever — and they’ve aggressively protected both the technology and aesthetic since 1987. And on high heels, Christian Louboutin owns that stunning red sole. No touchy!

Even some product scents are trademarked. (And we’re not just talking Chanel No. 5.) Play-Doh successfully registered its weirdly distinctive aroma in 2018. It’s one of very few scent trademarks registered at the USPTO.

In I Need That, I discuss how our dog brain responds instantly to sensory triggers. (In, like 2 milliseconds.) Smart brands know this, creating distinctive elements that are both memorable and defensible.

For product makers, this highlights the value of unique visual signatures. Vastly more than design elements, they become brand assets worth protecting early.

Action for you: Look at your product’s visual elements. What distinctive features could become valuable intellectual property? Are you protecting them adequately? (Startups, use care. Protecting design IP in numerous ways can become horrendously expensive. If the business goes bankrupt, there is nothing to protect. Seen it too many times.)

Laurier

P.S. Here’s an odd one: The glass Coca-Cola bottle was designed to be recognizable by touch in the dark, or even when broken. (Hopefully not both — ouch.) That’s next-level thinking!