Product Development Theft?

In another thread, another poster said the following:

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](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9049573&postcount=50)
I was wondering as to the actual truth of this.

If I was to take a chainsaw that had no patented parts in it, take a mold of each piece, and begin selling (or giving away) the exact replicas (minus the branding), could I be prosecuted for theft of R&D fees and such?

Apple wins lawsuits all the time for this. They call it “infringement of trade dress.”

Per that Wikipedia article: “Trade dress must also be nonfunctional in order to be legally protected; otherwise it is the subject matter of patent law.”

I was specifically referring to the functional parts of the device.

Another form of protection are design patents. But again, those are for ornamental aspects.

If it’s all functional and the patents are expired, then you’re apparently good.