Can a Color Be Trademarked? Color Trademarks Explained

Tiffany blue, T-Mobile magenta, the brown of UPS trucks. These colors have become solid trademarks, costing millions to build and protect. So, founders keep asking all the same question: What matters? Can you actually "own" a color? Can a color become a trademark?

Yes, but obviously that will require more action than casual logo registration. Today we will cover all necessary legal requirements, how things work in the EU, the US, and other parts of the world, Ukraine, for example, and what exactly you should do to lock down a color to your brand.

What Is a Color Trademark? What Is a Color Mark?

A color mark is a type of trademark in which a specific color shade serves as a brand identifier. Color itself. Not logo or words — just color itself. So when the user sees that exact color, they know exactly who made the product. The hue alone tells people which company is behind the product. That's what we mean by a color as a trademark. 

Actually, you can trademark everything: sounds, shapes, even smells. These are called non-traditional trademarks, and color fits in that category. They are widely recognised in most jurisdictions, but the bar, obviously, is much higher than for a regular logo or slogan. Why so strict? Colors are limited, and despite every one of them having a lot of shades, a lot of businesses are still using the same color schemes in their packaging and ads. So the courts usually reluctantly hand out a monopoly on something everyone needs.

A single color trademark protects one shade. Let’s take Tiffany’s blue as an example. Pantone 1837C has become a symbol, recognizable more than the logo of this jewelry brand. They are using it everywhere: from stylized product packaging to website key design elements.A color combination mark covers two or more colors together, like the blue-and-silver on Red Bull cans. Combination marks are often way easier to register because they stand out more. But even combinations can fail — Red Bull ran into trouble with the strict EU law, because their application did not spell out exactly how the two colors were arranged.

When Can You Trademark a Color?

Can you trademark a color? You can, if the color has special meaning and a deep historical context within your company. Owens Corning pulled this off with pink insulation after decades of constant use in product design and heavy marketing — count in the Pink Panther mascot and "think pink" slogan. The 1995 Qualitex case at the US Supreme Court made it official: a color alone can legally qualify under the Lanham Act if it has acquired distinctiveness and is not functional. After that ruling, Tiffany registered their robin-egg blue in 1998, and others followed.

But not every case provides trademarking. Can colors be trademarked in every situation? No. You will get rejected if the color is functional (green for eco-gardening products, for example), if it is common in your industry, or if it cannot provide users with a direct link to your product. Cadbury found this out the hard way when they lost their purple trademark after fighting Nestle for years — their description was too vague. 

A great example of a typical color for a specific industry is blue for tech companies and law firms. It symbolizes trust, professionalism, and reliability. Exactly what tech companies and law firms strive to provide. Blue is the most common choice in these areas because it gives people a sense of security and confidence. Darker shades of blue seem more traditional and conservative, while lighter shades of blue can seem more modern and friendly. This is why a pure blue color is unlikely to be registered as a trademark for a law or IT company. A combined TM, i.e., a logo that consists of verbal and figurative elements — yes. Assigning a specific shade of blue as a TM — no.

Legal Requirements and Evidence

Registering a color as a trademark is a significant step forward compared to registering a traditional trademark. However, this step involves overcoming greater complexities. First, you need to show "acquired distinctiveness" — proof that your target customers see the shade and think of you, not just "a fancy color." By default, colors are not distinctive. Nobody sees blue and thinks of a specific company unless that color is connected with the company's history.

Second, the color cannot be essential to the product. If this is going to put competitors at a practical disadvantage, because a color is a real industry standard, trademark law will say no.  The colour shouldn’t be practical, just arbitrary.

Third, you need to pin down the exact shade using Pantone or RAL codes. The European Court of Justice confirmed this in the 2003 Libertel case. Just saying "our blue" is not enough — you have to specify which colour code is behind the shade. And even successful trademarked colors only cover specific product or service classes. Owens Corning's pink is protected just for fiberglass insulation, not for all construction materials.

What evidence do intellectual property offices want? Years, even more often decades, of continuous use. Additionally, every type of social communication, such as advertisement campaigns with big budgets, national or worldwide campaigns, and "look-for" marketing, where you tell customers to look for the color. Survey data showing consumers link the color to your brand. Media mentions and awards. A paper trail of cease-and-desist letters or lawsuits that shows you treat the color as an asset with actual value.

How Color Trademarks Work in Different Countries

The color trademark regulations differ by country despite the basic overlap. How do companies trademark colors in different markets? If you are looking across multiple jurisdictions, here is what to expect.

In the US, the Lanham Act runs the show. The Supreme Court's Qualitex decision said color alone can work as a trademark if it has secondary meaning and is not functional. The USPTO wants evidence of acquired distinctiveness: how long you have used it, how much you spent on ads, and consumer perception data.

The EU has Regulation 2017/1001, which requires trademarks to be represented clearly on the register. The 2002 Sieckmann case set seven criteria: the sign must be clear, precise, self-contained, easily accessible, intelligible, durable, and objective. For colors, that means a specific Pantone or RAL code. EU reforms dropped the old "graphic representation" rule, which should make non-traditional trademarks easier, but in practice, the bar is still high. The Cadbury Purple mess and the Red Bull case both show how tough it is to meet the precision standard for color marks in Europe.

Let's analyze how color branding works in other countries using the example of Ukraine. It follows the Paris Convention. Article 5(2) of the Law "On the Protection of Rights to Marks for Goods and Services" allows colors and color combinations to be registered. You need to declare the color claim, submit color images, and show examples of actual use. The National Intellectual Property Authority (NIPA) examines marks against the Vienna Classification - Category 29, which covers colors with nine color groups and four combination types. Kyivstar (blue, white, yellow) and Vodafone Ukraine (white, gray, red) both have color combination registrations. Single color trademark registrations are rare here because proving acquired distinctiveness in the local market is tough.

Famous Examples and Why Some Fail

Some of the biggest brands built their whole identity around one color. Owens Corning's pink insulation started the trend in 1985. Tiffany Blue was registered in 1998 — the Pantone number (1837) refers to their founding year. T-Mobile's magenta, Cadbury's purple (before they lost it), and Christian Louboutin's red sole are other examples. Combinations work too — Red Bull's blue-and-silver is well-known, though it has hardly challenged in the EU because the application did not define the spatial layout.

Cadbury's loss is the cautionary story every founder should know. They used purple for over a century, but their registration was killed because the description — "the predominant color" on packaging was too vague. It could cover too many possible marks. The lesson: Be specific in your filing or risk losing everything. Filing for "blue" without a Pantone code, or claiming the color across too many product categories, will get you rejected or invalidated later.

How to Trademark a Color for your company

Ready for trademarking a color? If yes, start by finding your exact Pantone or RAL code. Check every touchpoint — product, packaging, app, ads - to make sure you are using the same shade everywhere. If there are inconsistencies, fix them before filing. Then figure out if a single color trademark or a combination mark fits your brand better.

Put together all documentation of advertisement spends, long-term use, media coverage, and community surveys analysis. Put together documentation of long-term use, ad spend, consumer surveys, media coverage, and enforcement actions. Think of it as building a case file that tells the story of how your color became your brand. Be sure that we at Icon.Partners will help you to file in pretty much every target country, despite examiners scrutinizing color trademarks harder than regular ones. But keep in mind that how you respond to objections often decides whether you get the registration.

After registration, watch the market and go after unauthorized use. A trademark you do not enforce can be diluted or cancelled. We help founders build IP strategies that cover both registration and ongoing protection.

F.A.Q.

Can a color be trademarked on its own?

Yes. A standalone color can be trademarked if it has secondary meaning — consumers link the shade to a specific brand. The US Supreme Court confirmed this in Qualitex v. Jacobson (1995). The EU and Ukraine recognize it too.

How long does it take to trademark a color?

The filing and registration process takes around 12-18 months, depending on where you file. But building the evidence of secondary meaning usually takes years of consistent use and marketing.

Are color trademarks enforceable online?

Color trademarks cover all channels where you use the mark in commerce — digital ads, e-commerce listings, social media. Enforcement gets trickier online because screens display colors differently. Keep strict digital color specs (hex codes, RGB) alongside your Pantone references.