It should be noted that one does not only characterize the color in an abstract or isolated way of the products. It is always AS color applied to a particular product. The TM and marks in the Mc Donald`s and ® Starbucks images below mean that the Company has claimed the rights to the image (the symbol or word or combination of both). In all brands (including logos), blue is the color of choice (Zachary Crockett/The Hustle) TOP: Former T-Mobile CEO John Legere has gone above and beyond to adopt the brand`s magenta hue (Twitter); BELOW: A color chart from the T-Mobile/Lemonade incident shows the variance of colors that brands claim to “own” One of the basic principles of color mark laws in the United States is that a functional color cannot be filed. In other words, if a company makes lawn mowers, it cannot “own” green because green is the color of lawns and is therefore a functional color. There are certainly pros and cons to applying for trademark protection. On the one hand, it is preferable not to claim protection for a particular colour, unless the service or goods are essential to the mark or serve as a distinctive feature of the mark. If not, one may actually be at a disadvantage by limiting one`s protection to that particular color and allowing others to use similar colors for competing products. On the other hand, however, for goods or services that would not be identifiable without a particular color (for example, Christian Louboutin shoes), it may be advisable to use and label that color. Trademark applications can be filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. For more information, contact Carter, DeLuca, Farrell & Schmidt at 631-501-5700.

“Typically, a company does this when its business model depends to some extent on a certain color,” says Jeffrey Samuels, professor emeritus at the University of Akron School of Law. “It will mark a color to prevent other companies from using it.” While some colors, like Chinese red or cobalt blue, may seem determined enough to some, dishes now seem to prefer the use of more scientific methods to define hues, such as the Pantone Matching System, an ink matching technique consisting of 1,114 colors. With the Pantone matching system, the respective hue of a color mark and the extent of protection can be defined, for example ten shades on both sides of the target color. This is not only the case for courts and lawyers when assessing the risk of confusion (i.e. the trademark infringement test), but also useful for manufacturers and advertisers to ensure correct and consistent use of the color mark. Secondary meaning can be extremely difficult to prove unless the color or color combination is not commonly used for other goods and services, is unusual or elaborate. One of the best ways to demonstrate this is to provide a high volume of advertising in which the color mark has been used. While companies regularly file all of this, they use the brand to protect (quite generously) everything that is essential to their brand. According to legal doctrine, it can be “any word, name, symbol or device used to identify and distinguish the good or service of an enterprise from its competitors”.

These brands are also not exclusive to companies. The University of Texas at Austin (Pantone 159) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Pantone 542) both have protections for their school colors. Charles Lewis Tiffany chose the color for the cover of Blue Book, the company`s annual catalog of “exquisite handmade jewelry,” first published in 1845. “Tiffany Blue” was then used for everything from shopping bags and jewelry boxes to any kind of advertising for the company. In the letter, Deutsche Telekom AG (T-Mobile`s parent company) accused Schreiber`s small insurance startup, Lemonade, of trademark infringement. Schreiber was confused: he hadn`t used the name T-Mobile. He had not appropriated the company`s logo or slogan. Heck, he wasn`t even in the cell phone business.

As General Mills recently learned when it was denied trademark protection for the yellow color of its Cheerios cereal boxes, which it has used since 1945, it will be difficult for a person to establish a secondary meaning when certain colors or color combinations are already widely used in relation to a particular type of good or service or certain elements thereof. On the other hand, if the colours are not already widely used in a particular market for a good or service, or if the applicant`s use of a particular colour or colour combination is unusual or elaborate, such as a green and white striped box of shaving cream, it is more likely that the secondary meaning can be shown. To successfully secure such a trademark, a company must prove only one color: Although companies successfully use color combinations (e.g., Campbell`s Soup labels), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has rejected attempts to protect a single color.