Federal Circuit Throws Shade on TTAB’s Treatment of Color Trademarks
Pink insulation, green tractors, robins-egg blue jewelry boxes – they all have something in common: recognizable colors that many associate with products. But can such colors be registered as trademarks and, if so, when? On April 8, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overruled the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “TTAB” or “Board”) and, in doing so, provided welcome guidance for trademark owners and practitioners on the nuanced area of protecting trademarks consisting solely of colors.
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“Federal Circuit Throws Shade on TTAB’s Treatment of Color Trademarks,” by David M. Perry and Jillian M. Taylor was published in the July‒August 2020 edition of Intellectual Property Technology Law Journal (Vol. 32, No. 7), a Wolters Kluwer publication. Reprinted with permission.
This article was first published as a Blank Rome Intellectual Property & Technology client advisory on April 14, 2020.