Intellectual Property News and Reports

In this trade dress infringement case, Plaintiff-Appellant CTB, Inc. (“Plaintiff”) appeals rulings of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina granting summary judgment in favor of Defendant-Appellee Hog Slat, Inc. (“Defendant”) on the grounds that Plaintiff’s trade dress registrations, which cover the shape and color scheme of its chicken feeder products, are functional and thus only eligible for patent law’s protection of utilitarian inventions. Plaintiff also appeals a district court order recommending a trial sanction for spoliation of evidence. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude the district court did not err in granting summary judgment and that the sanction is moot. Accordingly, we affirm.

Download CTB Inc. v. Hog Slat Inc.