Hartford House, Ltd. v. Hallmark Cards, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
846 F.2d 1268 (1988)
Hartford House (plaintiff) produced two greeting-card lines with landscape and nature themes and emotional messages, which the district court found had a distinctive appearance built from ten specific features. Hallmark Cards (defendant), aware of Hartford's market leadership, tested five alternative looks before launching its own "Personal Touch" line with a strikingly similar appearance. The district court found Hallmark had many alternative designs available, including designs used by other competitors, and granted Hartford a preliminary injunction against eighty-three Hallmark cards; Hallmark appealed.
Whether trade-dress infringement can be based on copying the appearance of a product formed by a combination of several features.