functional feature
functional feature. Trademarks. A design element that is either physically necessary to construct an article or commercially necessary to manufacture and sell it; a product’s attribute that is essential to its use, necessary for its proper and successful operation, and utilitarian rather than ornamental in every detail. • A functional feature is not eligible for trademark protection. [Cases: Trade Regulation 43. C.J.S. Trade-Marks, Trade-Names, and Unfair Competition §§ 49–50.]