SLEIGH THE COMPETITION: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION FOR HOLIDAY PRODUCTS

As the holiday season approaches, consumers and collectors alike often seek out distinctive ornaments and festive décor – drawn to items that are visually striking, play music, light up, or offer a unique twist on tradition. Whether you’re designing a whimsical tree ornament, a modern menorah, or a singing Santa Claus figure, these holiday products often include creative features that are eligible for intellectual property protection. Understanding the various IP tools available is crucial for businesses and inventors who wish to secure a competitive edge in the seasonal marketplace. Below, we outline key forms of intellectual property protection that may apply to Christmas ornaments and similar festive creations.

1. Design Patents: Protecting Ornamentation

Design patent protection can be particularly useful for safeguarding the ornamental, non-functional aspects of a product’s design. Unlike utility patents, which focus on how a product works, design patents protect how a product looks. For example, United States Design Patent No. D674,725 covers a rather unusual – and admittedly eerie – Christmas tree ornament. FIG. 1 from Design Patent No. D674,725 is shown below – and yes it is creepy. This protection ensures that competitors cannot copy the visual design for a term of 15 years from issuance. If your ornament design is new, original, and purely ornamental, a design patent can be an effective way to prevent knockoffs – even on Ecommerce platforms like Amazon. 

2. Trade Dress: Securing the Look and Feel

After a design patent expires, many businesses turn to trade dress to maintain exclusivity. Trade dress refers to the overall visual appearance of a product that signifies its source to consumers – this can include the shape, color scheme, texture, or even the packaging of a product. Importantly, trade dress protection under trademark law requires that the design has acquired “secondary meaning.” In other words, consumers must associate the design specifically with your business. This can be proven through advertising efforts, sales volume, market research, and other forms of consumer recognition.

For instance, the R2-D2 Christmas tree ornament is protected under United States Trademark Registration No. 3,739,729 (shown below). This registration helps prevent others from selling confusingly similar ornaments. Trade dress can provide indefinite protection, so long as the product remains in use and retains its source-identifying function. 

It is often strategic to pursue a design patent early on, then seek trade dress protection after the product has been in the market long enough to acquire distinctiveness. This approach gives you immediate protection while laying the foundation for longer-term brand exclusivity.

3. Utility Patents: Protecting Functionality

If your holiday product includes a functional improvement or a novel utility feature, you may be eligible for a utility patent. This type of protection covers new and non-obvious methods, systems, or mechanical functions. For example, U.S. Patent No. 7,757,435 covers an ornament that doubles as a tree-watering device – a clever integration of utility and seasonal décor. Utility patents are powerful tools for protecting innovation beyond appearance. 

4. Trademarks: Protecting Your Holiday Brand

A strong brand identity can be just as valuable as the product itself. Trademarks protect names, logos, and symbols used to identify the source of goods or services. If you are selling a collection of holiday items under a single brand, a registered trademark can help secure your rights against imitators and protect your brand’s reputation. For example, United States Trademark Registration No. 6,533,828 protects a line of branded holiday ornaments called OLD WORLD CHRISTMAS, ensuring that others cannot market similar products under a confusingly similar name. Trademarks are especially critical when selling online, where brand recognition drives consumer trust and sales. Also, a registered trademark is needed for Amazon brand registry, which is very useful when dealing with trademark infringement to remove infringers quickly. 

5. Copyright: Protecting Artistic Works

Copyright law protects original artistic expressions fixed in a tangible medium. This includes visual art, sculpture, books, music, and even holiday ornaments that qualify as original works of authorship. Whether you’re sculpting unique Santa figurines or illustrating a children’s Christmas book, your work is protected the moment it is created – but registration with the U.S. Copyright Office provides additional legal advantages. Most notably, registration is a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit for infringement and can entitle you to statutory damages and attorneys’ fees. Which is a powerful tool to convincing infringers to stop using your works. 

6. Conclusion: Securing Holiday-Themed Intellectual Property

Businesses and inventors looking to protect their festive creations have several legal tools at their disposal – each serving a distinct role. Design patents provide early protection for ornamental features, trade dress secures market identity over time, utility patents protect innovation, trademarks safeguard brand value, and copyright covers original artistic expressions.

At The Plus IP Firm, our intellectual property attorneys routinely assist clients in identifying the appropriate type of protection and guiding them through the registration process. Whether you’re launching a new ornament line or developing a one-of-a-kind holiday invention, we can help ensure that your intellectual property is protected for seasons to come.  To learn more about Derek Fahey, please click HERE.