Trademark Attorneys Trusted For Our Experience®
Our Dupe Protection Protocol™ is not a single trademark filing, but a coordinated, proactive legal framework to ensure brand owners have every tool in the toolkit before a dupe appears.
The strategy has been thoughtfully designed to:
In a world full of dupes, prepared brands win.
While every brand is different, a comprehensive anti-dupe strategy should explore all available trademark protection.
A trademark portfolio that protects all aspects of your brand is the first line of defense when look-alikes enter the market. The registrations can be used to successfully take down dupe products on third-party platforms and to seek willful damages and attorneys’ fees should litigation be required.
Here are the items we seek to protect as part of our Dupe Protection Protocol™:
This may seem obvious, but many companies still launch products without trademark protection.
Unregistered names are extremely vulnerable to dupes.
Dupes frequently imitate logos or design elements closely enough to confuse consumers. A registered logo is often a critical enforcement lever when dupes cross the line.
If you use slogans in advertising, marketing, or on packaging, they may be eligible for trademark protection.
These elements are often copied verbatim by dupes and are easy to enforce when properly registered.
Some products have distinctive designs that qualify for trade dress protection. Identifying and protecting these elements can dramatically strengthen enforcement options.
Examples of product design trademark registrations:
Packaging is one of the most common targets for dupes.
From color layouts to label structure to visual presentation, protecting your packaging with trademark registrations can be a powerful way to stop dupes, especially on crowded digital marketplaces.
Examples of product packaging trademark registrations:
In certain circumstances, distinctive colors or color combinations associated with a product can be protected.
When appropriate, color protection can prevent dupes from emulating your visual identity too closely.
Examples of color-centric trademark registrations:
Once a dupe exists, your legal options are limited unless you’ve taken steps to secure trademark registrations in advance.
Typically, it takes 12-16 months to obtain a registered trademark in the United States.
It is a lengthy process and prone to delays.
Therefore, if you only start filing trademark applications in response to dupes appearing, you may be stuck for a long time without the proper protection around your brand in place.
If you obtain trademark registrations before your product becomes wildly popular (which is typically when the dupes show up), you are able to get quicker and more reliable take-downs from platforms like Amazon, Alibaba, Etsy, and social media networks.
Additionally, if you end up in litigation, trademark registrations enable you to receive enhanced damages and attorneys’ fees.
Social media, especially platforms like TikTok, has fueled the dupe economy.
It’s not just common to see knockoff products now; it’s also socially acceptable to buy them, promote them, and even celebrate them with hashtags like #dupe, #dupeculture, and #dupealert.
This change has led to a significant increase in the number of consumers who are seeking out and buying look-alike “dupes.” This erodes sales for brands that have often spent years and millions of dollars to earn popularity in the marketplace.
In fact, a Statista Consumer Insights survey (conducted June – September 2025) quantifies the percentage of US respondents (18-64 years old) who have purchased dupes from the following categories:
Smucker’s Sues Trader Joe’s Over Alleged ‘Uncrustables’ Copycat
Smucker’s sues Trader Joe’s over look-alike crustless sandwiches, claiming the grocer copied its iconic Uncrustables design and packaging.
Our trademark attorneys are happy to offer a complimentary consultation to discuss how our Dupe Protection Protocol™ could be implemented to protect your brands.
Please submit your information on the contact form below. Once received, we will contact you within 24 hours.
This overview is informational only and not legal advice; final recommendations depend on your specific product and business. Gerben IP does not represent the entities shown in the examples.
