Colors, Brands, and Trademarks: The Marketing (and Legal) Problem Of Establishing Distinctiveness

The successful registration of a color as a trademark requires the courts to assess whether the color has developed secondary meaning with respect to a specific brand.

Colors, Brands, and Trademarks: The Marketing (and Legal) Problem Of Establishing Distinctiveness

Janet Hoek

University of Otago

Philip Gendall

Massey University

INTRODUCTION

Trademarks are recognized internationally as devices that indicate the source of products and differentiate them from competing products. Trademarks initially denoted the mark of individual craftspeople before expanding to indicate the origin of a product (Peterson, Smith, and Zerrillo, 1999). Because trademarks identify the origin of a product, they enable dissatisfied consumers to seek redress and protect monopolies from the entry of unauthorized goods.

Although initially developed as identifying devices, trademarks also simplify consumers’ purchase processes. Trademarks provide...

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