Pantone 2865c. I'm sure you all know it well …… No? Perhaps you
would if I told you that it is a particular shade of purple used by
a certain chocolate manufacturer?
Pantone 2865c is simply a colour and yet Cadbury have the
exclusive right to use it in relation to 'chocolate in bar or
tablet form'.
Can anybody register a colour as a trade mark?
Colours aren't usually distinctive enough to set apart the goods
or services of one business from those of another. However, if a
business uses a particular colour so much that consumers come to
associate that colour with the business, then it can be registered
as a trade mark.
Are many colours registered?
Ownership of colour trade marks is more widespread than you
might think. Orange, Heinz and BP all have exclusive rights over
particular colours in their particular areas of business.
For a new business, a colour alone probably won't have
sufficient distinctiveness to be appropriate as a trade mark.
Cadbury first started using its purple colouring in around 1915,
then applied for the trade mark in 2005 and was only granted it
earlier this year!
That said, if you are successful, imagine what a powerful
branding tool it is to 'own' a colour!