I don’t see how t-mobile can have the one color trademarked and I’ve never seen them use that particular one. Seattle has a stadium with the version they use in marketing, not the one they have trademarked. No sense.
I’d be shocked if Tiffany Blue isn’t trademarked. Or Louboutin red. I’m sure Tiffany’s isn’t going to sue you if you send out your family’s Christmas newsletter on a Tiffany blue background, but I wouldn’t suggest using it for a shopping bag or bracelet.
Completely true. I was more responding to the idea that you can’t trademark a color. The general idea as I’ve always heard in in court evaluations is whether the potential violation would cause consumer confusion.
Some companies are both quite aggressive and sometimes successful in trademark disputes even in less-related industries, of course. A certain fruit company and a Scottish fast food company come to mind. While not colors, those are examples of companies whose trademarks are granted within an industry but whose defenses have significantly exceeded it.
I’m pretty sure the Tiffany legal team doesn’t have a budget that exceeds that of some F500 companies though…
Not sure it’s enforceable in every country/jurisdiction, but yeah, someplace they can. There was a big controversy about it about 2 years back.
https://thehustle.co/can-a-corporation-trademark-a-color/
First link I found, there are properly better sources out there, but that’ll do for a general overview.
I don’t see how t-mobile can have the one color trademarked and I’ve never seen them use that particular one. Seattle has a stadium with the version they use in marketing, not the one they have trademarked. No sense.
I’d be shocked if Tiffany Blue isn’t trademarked. Or Louboutin red. I’m sure Tiffany’s isn’t going to sue you if you send out your family’s Christmas newsletter on a Tiffany blue background, but I wouldn’t suggest using it for a shopping bag or bracelet.
Trademarks are industry-specific, so if Tiffany’s has a trademark, it’s likely specific to jewelry-related stuff.
Completely true. I was more responding to the idea that you can’t trademark a color. The general idea as I’ve always heard in in court evaluations is whether the potential violation would cause consumer confusion.
Some companies are both quite aggressive and sometimes successful in trademark disputes even in less-related industries, of course. A certain fruit company and a Scottish fast food company come to mind. While not colors, those are examples of companies whose trademarks are granted within an industry but whose defenses have significantly exceeded it.
I’m pretty sure the Tiffany legal team doesn’t have a budget that exceeds that of some F500 companies though…