SECALT S.A.; TRACTEL, INC., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. WUXI SHENXI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY COMPANY, LTD., Defendant-Appellee.SECALT S.A.; TRACTEL, INC., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. WUXI SHENXI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY COMPANY, LTD., Defendant-Appellee., 668 F.3d 677

Summary

The manufacturers claimed that the external design elements of their traction hoist constituted protected trade dress. The court of appeals held that the manufacturers failed to establish that the design features were nonfunctional, as required under 15 U.S.C.S. § 1125(a)(3). The manufacturers argued that the design of the hoist demonstrated a "cubist" look and feel. However, there was no evidence that anything about the appearance existed for any nonfunctional purpose. The existence of a design patent did not support the manufacturers' claim because there was no evidence that the manufacturers had any relationship to the patent, and the purported trade dress did not match the patented design. The manufacturers' own engineering witness testified that numerous features of the claimed trade dress served a function. The case was properly found to be "exceptional" so as to support an award of fees to the competitor under 15 U.S.C.S. § 1117(a) because the manufacturers did not provide any ...