Is it worth to patent the traffic light, rainbow and other beautiful things?

While we were here joking for Labuten, a close company represented by Sberbank, MTS and Gazprom neatly squeezed their trademark colors as trademarks. It is especially funny that decisions on applications submitted at different times (see priority dates) were taken at the same time. Apparently the question was pressed through by one lobbyist according to the principle and finally decided. Those who wish to neighing have already been neighing, now let's delve into it. There is a lot of material here.

To begin with, the specifics are trademarks with links to registration data. For reference and the company, there is still a pioneer of the topic - jewelry brand Tiffany. Looking ahead, we note that it is for him to register color as a trademark looks the most logical. After all, they created it themselves, and even the number of colors in the Pantone palette corresponds to the year the company was founded.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffany_Blue
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So.

Sber

Mts

Tiffany

Gazprom

In short, we congratulate the happy brand owners with new beautiful trademarks. The expression and refinement of the lines are especially impressive ... It remains to be understood what they will do with them, because the world history of this good does not shine.

Nivea case

Beiersdorf has registered the blue color trademark (Pantone 280 C) and used it on the packaging of its Nivea brand products. Well used and used.



Registration was based on the tradition of use - that is, the totality of all points of view, which can show that a trademark designates a product as originating from a particular company, and thereby help distinguish it from other manufacturers. Yeah, schaz.

Unilever (Dove brand) quickly appealed to the court with a request to cancel the registration of a blue trademark.

Ibonefig.

The claimant asserted that traders did not perceive color as an indicator of a specific origin. Unilever pointed to the lack of tradition of use and that the survey of participants in the trade turnover was conducted poorly (according to its results, the degree of recognition of products amounted to 60.4%).

Clearly, Beiersdorf insisted that the registered mark was distinctive and should not be freely used. The company also noted that blue has been used as a “corporate” color for more than 80 years, and that the packaging of any Nivea product is at least partially colored in it.

What did the court decide? And nothing good for Nivei.

To recognize the distinctive ability of a color trademark, it must have a combination of certain characteristics, the court pointed out.
First, the product market must be very specific and cover a limited segment of goods.
Secondly, in this market, the use of colors either should not be accepted at all, or the specific color is unusual for it.
Finally, the use of colors as a designation should be an industry tradition for traders.

The court analyzed the use of blue in the market and came to the conclusion that the color is used in three versions: for decorative purposes, as a pointer to products for men or to products for night skating. In the market segment under consideration, the use of color is widespread, and the controversial color is not unusual. In addition, it turned out that turnover participants do not consider it as indicating a particular manufacturer.

The court also established the following facts.
First, the trademark is not independent and has a decorative function - to make the word Nivea written in white letters visible.
The independent character of the color sign is not visible, because it is always used only in combination with others (in particular, with white), as well as with various other elements of the package. The court also found that in this market segment the color does not differ from those traditionally used (for example, as a pointer to men's products or to night-care products), and that participants in the sales turnover did not see an independent indication of the origin of the goods.
Finally, the court agreed that the survey was conducted incorrectly - the participants were given a two-color card with a dark blue field and a white border. It is impossible to establish in such a situation how blue the color itself indicates the manufacturer, the court decided, and annulled the Blue trademark in 2013. Tram-pam-pam.

Source: zakon.ru/blog/2015/4/24/sinij_cvet_i_zolotoj_zajchik__o_trudnostyax_zashhity_neobychnyx_tovarnyx_znakov_rasskazali_sudi_germ

Cadbury case

The same fate befell the purple chocolate



The High Court came to a final decision: this color is not “specific” enough and cannot be considered a trademark. Purple milk chocolate bars have been produced in the UK for almost a hundred years, but this is not a reason to monopolize 2685C. The court ruled that Cudbury tried to register the color in various graphic variations, and not in one well-recognized version. Thus, the "predominant color" in this case does not play any role.

the importance of color is different for different branches of economic activity. In the UK, the court accepted the argument that their green color is important for BP refills, since only by color can the driver identify the station from afar. Chocolates on the nearest shelf in the supermarket is more difficult to confuse.
Clause 1 Art. 15 of the TRIPS Agreement also provides for the possibility of protecting the combination of colors. In this case, the protection was claimed for one color. Article 15 of the TRIPS Agreement is often interpreted as providing protection to color (for example, Wikipedia), but the text clearly states “combinations of colors”. Is the combination of colors considered to be a combination of violet with a chocolate bar? At least, the High Court does not think so.
Source: zakon.ru/blog/2013/10/9/mozhet_li_cvet_byt_tovarnym_znakom#_ftn6

We have a little arguing on this topic in the air radio programs about trademarks
radio.mediametrics.ru/legalniy_razgovor/1388 (there is not only about colors, but also about trademarks in general).

Conclusions made such - all the same it will be difficult to protect the signs from violations and their registration should be assessed more as an image move. Do not wait for an avalanche of claims to all using similar colors.
Such a move is allowed when you have both the names, the logo, and the shape of the product, and the color registration is already exotic.

© Mityagin, Gotovtsev