Descriptive marks and product configurations require proof that consumers associate them with a source. Evidence includes advertising expenditure, sales volume, duration of use, survey evidence, and intentional copying.
Survey evidence is the most direct proof.
Alternative Names:
Acquired Distinctiveness|Secondary Meaning Showing
Why it Matters?
Advertising expenditure alone does not establish secondary meaning, since spending demonstrates effort rather than consumer association, and courts require evidence that the advertising emphasized the claimed mark rather than the product generally. Look-for advertising directing consumers to the specific feature is the strongest circumstantial evidence. Survey evidence remains the most direct proof and the most vulnerable to methodology challenge.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Does advertising spending establish secondary meaning?
What is the strongest circumstantial evidence?
