The Chair Nobody Can Copyright: Furniture, Homewares, and Design Protection for Objects You Sit On
By Casey Scott McKay ·
A chair is a useful article, and useful articles are outside copyright except to the extent their design features can be identified separately from and exist independently of the utilitarian aspects. That single sentence explains most of what is strange about intellectual property in furniture and homewares. The surface pattern on the upholstery is protected; the shape of the frame usually is not. Design patents cover the shape for a short period and then it is free. Trade dress can outlast them but demands secondary meaning and survives functionality only where the shape is genuinely ornamental. This article works through separability after the Supreme Court's most recent word on it, the filing sequence that actually protects a collection, licensed reissues and designer estates, and what to do when an unauthorised copy appears in a catalogue.
IP and Technology > Copyright | Article | Published 28 October 2025 - Updated 7 August 2026 | Casey Scott McKay - marksy.us
Summary. A chair is a useful article, and useful articles are outside copyright except to the extent their design features can be identified separately from and exist independently of the utilitarian aspects. That sentence explains most of what is strange about intellectual property in furniture and homewares. The surface pattern is protected; the frame shape usually is not. Design patents cover the shape briefly and then it is free. Trade dress can outlast them but demands secondary meaning and survives functionality only where the shape is genuinely ornamental. This article works through separability, the filing sequence that protects a collection, licensed reissues and designer estates, and what to do when a copy appears.
Keywords: furniture design protection · useful article doctrine · separability · Star Athletica · design patents · trade dress in furniture · textile and surface pattern copyright · licensed reissues · authorised reproductions · designer estates · contract manufacturing · homewares counterfeits · moral rights · catalogue photography · showroom trade dress
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