So you can trademark color? Who knew?

[CES020]

Interesting finding by the court :

http://www.engadget.com/2014/02/08/tmobile-aio-trademark-suit/

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Interesting finding by the court :

http://www.engadget.com/2014/02/08/tmobile-aio-trademark-suit/

Have to wonder if ole JD will be all over this.

 

[CanuckSigns]

Yeah we had something similar a few weeks ago, customer came in wanting to get custom post-it notes printed with their logo, they wanted the background to be " as bright yellow as possible" so we sent it off to our supplier spec'ing Pantone hexachrome yellow, they came back and told us that they legally were not allowed to use any of the bright yellow colours because 3m will go after them for trademark infringing.

 

[Kentucky Wraps]

I don't think the court said you can trade mark a color. They said Aio couldn't use the plum because:
it was found that during the vetting stage, they basically were attempting to get close to the colors of their competition in the design phase.
Trademarking a color would be like trademarking C#. I'm sorry, you can't sing that song, it has C# in it.
Just doesn't seem right. Especially if 3M can do it with "bright yellows" unless they have a proprietary chemical process of creating a color that doesn't occur naturally.

 

[Biker Scout]

UPS owns the color "Brown" (Pullman Brown specifically) But you can't say anything "Brown" without getting a letter from their lawyers.

 

[TXFB.INS]

yup have seen this more than once, UT burnt Orange, ATM Maroon, Baylor Green/Gold. we run across it more often with collegiate, but companies also do it.

it is fairly common place for larger entities to this

 

[Biker Scout]

If I remember correctly, Dow Corning might have trademarked "Pink" as well. Not sure what they did during all this "Pink-Washing" for cancer stuff though?

 

[300mphGraphics]

http://www.geekosystem.com/wiffle-ball-trademark-yellow/

We recently came across a photo that’s apparently been circulating the Internet for a little while now, which depicts a Wiffle Ball bat that says “The color YELLOW is a registered trademark of The Wiffle Ball, Inc.” No, the pic isn’t Photoshopped; yes, The Wiffle Ball, Inc. has trademarked the color yellow, in a fashion, although you needn’t be afraid of eating corn-on-the-cob or growing dandelions. So what does it mean, exactly?
​

In short: Intellectual property law in the US and in many Western countries allows for the trademarking of colors in specific commercial settings. In its 1995 decision on the case of Qualitex Co. v. Jacobson Products Co., Inc, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that if colors have a secondary meaning in the marketplace, if in themselves the colors have taken on the function of helping to “identify and distinguish [the seller's] goods . . . from those manufactured or sold by others and to indicate [their] source,” in the language of the Lanham Act, then they can be registered as trademarks.​

Thus, Wiffle Ball can trademark yellow, UPS can trademark brown, and Cadbury can trademark purple; however, these trademarks offer protection in the sub-marketplaces in which the color might cause confusion over the manufacturer. A rival chocolate company couldn’t legally wrap its bars in Cadbury purple; however, if you want to paint your car the same purple, you’re good to go.

More on the link.
​

 

[HDvinyl]

My family used to BLACK®.

 

[nashvillesigns]

color copyright

ahhh, let the pussification of color in America, begin!

so begins, the lack of clarity between color shifts.
two generations later, everyone will be black or white.
sigh.

-mosher