A type of trademark used to identify membership in a particular collective group or organization, cooperative or association. Collective membership marks are unique in that the are used solely for the purpose of identifying the person displaying the mark as a member of a collective, not to distinguish the source or origin of particular goods or services.
The use of a mark or trade name in commerce sufficiently similar to a famous mark that by association it reduces, or is likely to reduce, the public's perception that the famous mark signifies something unique, singular or particular.
The functionality doctrine prevents trademark law, which seeks to promote competition by protecting a firm's reputation, from instead inhibiting legitimate competition by allowing a producer to control a useful product feature. SeeQualitex Co. v. Jacobsen Products Co., Inc., 514 U.S.
