Research On Legal Protection Of Website Trade Dress In China And United States

The trade dress of the website serves as a source identifying function to relevant consumers and represents the good will of the owner.There is a wide dispute on the intellectual property rights protection to the website trade dress.This trade dress may not fit the traditional theories of copyright protection,patent protection or trademark protection,including the doctrine of expression and idea,the doctrine of distinctiveness,the theory of novelty.The biggest problem in getting a clear picture of the website trade dress protection under the Chinese law in the digital ages is one that also faced in other countries.In the United States,the producer is seeking trademark protection against slavish imitation of its new subject created by the online business model.In China,the producer who seeks for a legal protection on its distinctive features or overall look of its website has all IPR namely copyright,design patent and anti-unfair competition law protection available,but that has proven to be very unreliable.Historically we see the general economic development caused the creation of the new law.In this article,I will discuss each of the principle forms of protection in China and the United States.In the meantime,I want to find a solution for the imperfect website trade dress protection under the current anti-unfair competition law system and perhaps explain why we need to establish a sui generis trade dress protection under the trademark law system in China.