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In any business, your intellectual property (IP) is what makes you stand out as a unique business.
One particular way of protecting that IP is through registering a trade mark.
Trade marking your business name, the name of your product or service, or even your logo gives you an exclusive right in the UK to use it however way you wish.
But did you know a business can also trade mark a colour?
Whether you’re a new business or you’ve been around for a while, it’s always a good idea to do your research around trade marks.
This article will talk about trade marked colours and why your business should be thinking about them.
What Is A Trade Mark?
In any business, a word, phrase, symbol or logo is usually important in having your brand recognised by your customers and community.
To make sure nobody else uses it, and that your brand stays unique, it can be legally registered as a trade mark through the UK IPO – our national register of trademarks, patents and other IP protection.
Can You Trade Mark A Colour?
You can trade mark a number of things and – yes – a colour is one of them.
A lot of big international companies whose brand relies heavily on a particular colour will often apply to have that specific colour trade marked.
Why?
They want to make sure that colour is only associated with their brand, which keeps their image unique and exclusive.
So, if you’re a small business owner who is thinking of using a particular colour to be central to your business, it’s a good idea to check if that colour is already protected with a trademark.
Colour Trade Mark Examples
It’s quite difficult to have a particular colour trade marked because colours are commonly used everywhere.
So, for a colour to be trade marked, it would have to be clearly unique and specifically well-known to be associated to a business’ brand.
A lot of the existing trade marked colours are those associated with big international brands who’ve poured a lot of time, money and resources into making sure that colour is only theirs to use.
Multinational confectionery leader – Cadbury – spent years in court trying to fight for the right to the colour purple as a trade mark against Nestle.
And even Mattel’s iconic fashion doll Barbie has trade marked their popular bright pink that has been used across all their products and branding for the past 60 years.
You might not even know that the original pale yellow used in Post-It notes is also protected by a trade mark.
So, if you’re using any of these colours primarily as part of your brand, it’s possible that you are infringing on an IP right.
What Do I Do Now?
The best thing to do is to be proactive.
Whether you’re new to the business scene or a seasoned player, it’s so important to think about how trade marks might affect your business.
If you don’t have anything trade marked, it’s a good idea to consider whether you want to protect your business name, logo or product name under a trade mark.
Not sure how to approach this? No problem – that’s what we’re here for.
If you’re keen on making sure your business’ IP protection is in good shape, contact us at [email protected].
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