Cartoon stick figure holding leather-textured handbags in each hand with a duck flying overhead – representing a blog post about Dooney & Bourke All-Weather Leather non-traditional trademark registrations.

Trademark: Dooney & Bourke All-Weather Leather Handbag

First Used: 1983

First Registered: 1999

Current Owner: Dooney & Bourke, Inc. [1]

Trademark Type: non-traditional trademark; trade dress; configuration mark; texture mark

Primarily Associated With: leather handbags [2]

Brief (and likely incomplete) History [3]:

Dooney & Bourke® [4] started in 1975 in South Norwalk, Connecticut, when designer Peter Dooney and entrepreneur Frederic Bourke launched a small leather-goods venture. The pair initially focused on men’s accessories, including surcingle belts (in bright striped webbings with bridle-leather tabs) and classic suspenders. Dooney & Bourke first gained recognition for its whimsical designs, which appealed to Wall Street professionals. Early distribution included Nordstrom, Brooks Brothers, and Saks Fifth Avenue, together with the company-owned The Company Store in Norwalk.

By the early 1980s, Dooney & Bourke was ready to expand and move into women’s fashion. In 1981 the company introduced its first handbags, most notably the Tack Case and the Equestrian Bag, both crafted from bridle leather and built with the same solid brass hardware and stitching details that had defined its men’s accessories. These early bags carried the equestrian influence of the belts and suspenders into a new category and signaled that the company was ready to compete in the broader fashion market.

The company’s big breakthrough came with the launch of the All-Weather Leather® [5] line. Dooney & Bourke developed a specially treated pebble-grained cowhide that was water-repellent and resistant to scuffs, giving the bags both durability and a distinct textured look. To mark the collection, the brand introduced the Dooney & Bourke Duck Logo [6], a nod to the phrase “like water off a duck’s back,” which neatly tied the material story to an easily recognizable icon.

Today, Dooney & Bourke owns two non-traditional trademark registrations for its pebble-grained texture handbags. The Dooney & Bourke AWL Patch Handbag configuration mark [7], first released in 1983, includes an oval patch for the logo, and the Dooney & Bourke AWL Medallion Handbag configuration mark [8], first released in 1991, includes a metal medallion for the logo.