ASSIGNMENT

What you should do as intellectual property counsel for a company

You are the intellectual property counsel for a company that sells shoes. The designers at your company have just designed a pair of shoes that they are excited for the company to begin manufacturing and selling. These shoes are highly unique because they look like bananas that are being peeled (see below). The designers are convinced that this unusual look will make them popular in the crowded shoe marketplace.

However, prior to investing the resources to finalize the design, create the manufacturing system, and begin marketing the shoes, the CEO of the company has asked you whether and how intellectual property law might be used to protect against competitors copying the shoes or aspects of the shoes.

Consider the different forms of intellectual property law that you have learned about in this course and whether each form would be a good fit for protecting these unique shoes. Also consider the state of the fashion industry: trends in fashion change rapidly—which may impact your assessment of which IP protection will be best in this case.

 write a 1-2 page explanation of how you think these shoes could be protected. Provide a qualitative, supported conclusion on how effectively each form of IP you discuss would protect your company.

This assignment will be graded on how you apply the three major forms of IP protection available, including alternatives to IP, and your conclusions on how well the different forms of IP would protect your company.