764
Opinion of the Court
secondary meaning requirement at the outset of the trade dress' use is rejected, since there is no basis for such requirement in § 43(a). Pp. 767-776. 932 F. 2d 1113, affirmed.
White, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Rehnquist, C. J., and Blackmun, O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, and Souter, JJ., joined. Scalia, J., filed a concurring opinion, post, p. 776. Stevens, J., post, p. 776, and Thomas, J., post, p. 785 , filed opinions concurring in the judgment.
Kimball J. Corson argued the cause and filed the briefs for petitioner.
Richard G. Taranto argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were H. Bartow Farr III and James Eliasberg.*
Justice White delivered the opinion of the Court.
The issue in this case is whether the trade dress 1 of a restaurant may be protected under § 43(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946 (Lanham Act), 60 Stat. 441, 15 U. S. C. § 1125(a)
*Arthur M. Handler and Ronald S. Katz filed a brief for the Private Label Manufacturers Association as amicus curiae urging reversal.
Bruce P. Keller filed a brief for the United States Trademark Association as amicus curiae.
1 The District Court instructed the jury: " '[T]rade dress' is the total image of the business. Taco Cabana's trade dress may include the shape and general appearance of the exterior of the restaurant, the identifying sign, the interior kitchen floor plan, the decor, the menu, the equipment used to serve food, the servers' uniforms and other features reflecting on the total image of the restaurant." 1 App. 83-84. The Court of Appeals accepted this definition and quoted from Blue Bell Bio-Medical v. Cin-Bad, Inc., 864 F. 2d 1253, 1256 (CA5 1989): "The 'trade dress' of a product is essentially its total image and overall appearance." See 932 F. 2d 1113, 1118 (CA5 1991). It "involves the total image of a product and may include features such as size, shape, color or color combinations, texture, graphics, or even particular sales techniques." John H. Harland Co. v. Clarke Checks, Inc., 711 F. 2d 966, 980 (CA11 1983). Restatement (Third) of Unfair Competition § 16, Comment a (Tent. Draft No. 2, Mar. 23, 1990).
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