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This paper is the study on the trends of precedents about the functionality of trade dress. 3 recent CAFC's precedents were introduced. First, Functionality doctrine does not imply that preserving basic elements for the public domain is the doctrine's only role. Another goal, as TrafFix stressed, is to separate the spheres of patent and trademark law, and to ensure that the term of a patent is not extended beyond the period authorized by the legislature. CAFC held that a design such as Clarin's x-frame chair was functional not because it was the only way to do things, but because it represented one of many solutions to a problem. Second, in contrast to Franek’s mark, the green-gold pads in Qualitex were so distinctive that they were nonfunctional. But a circle was the kind of basic design that a producer like Jay Franco adopted because lternatives were scarce and some consumers wanted the shape regardless of who anufactured it. A design's aesthetic appeal could be as functional as its tangible characteristics. CAFC held that trademark for circular beach towel was functional, and therefore, not protectable. Third, AFC decided 5 factors to determine whether a design was functional: (1) the existence of a utility patent, expired or unexpired, that involves or describes the functionality of an item's design
element; (2) the utilitarian properties of the item's unpatented design elements; (3) advertising of the item that touts the utilitarian advantages of the item's design elements; (4) the dearth of, or difficulty in creating, alternative designs for the item's purpose; (5) the effect of the design feature on an item's quality or cost.