Research On The Registration Of Single Color Trademarks

As a type of non-traditional marks,The registration of a single color trademark has been recognized both in the international and domestic level,Even in developed countries in Europe a single color trademark has been clearly defined in the law or case can be approved for registration,And in our country, the single will also be included in the scope of protection of the trademark color of trademark law.Investigate its reason, mainly because of the intangible assets as an important enterprise,The importance of choosing a trademark for their own product and business development is self-evident,As a result of a single color naturally attractive to consumers, more and more enterprises are concerned about the color trademark.So-called color trademark,Refers to the use of a color to indicate the source of different goods or services, and is not limited by the external contour of the fixed color logo.Therefore color trademark can be divided into two types,Single color trademark and color combination of trademark, for the color trademark, most countries, including China, are given the registered trademark status, and for single color trademark registration protection issues counties has different attitudes. Color itself is very descriptive and limited categories of color, easy to cause confusion, etc make the single color is hard to have inherent distinctiveness, so a single color logo to can be included in the scope of the registered trademark must solve the problem of the significance of a single color, to meet the necessary conditions for trademark registration.The significance of trademark can be obtained through two ways, one is the intrinsic significance of the trademark itself, one is through the use of the trademark, the second meaning of the logo to obtain the significant.As mentioned before, a single color is difficult to have an inherent significance, the only way to get a significant is through the long-term use of a continuous production capacity to identify the source of goods or services. In determine whether a single color by using the obtained significant, must consider the following factors:The use of a single color by a business operator, competitors' demand for the single color, and the consumer's perception of a single color logo. Specifically, first of all should be analyzed operators for the usage of a single color, not after persistent use of a single color can't become a trademark registration;Secondly, should consider consumer perception of the single color logo, only consumers can be linked to the color and the source of goods or services, in order to identify the single color logo has acquired significant;Finally, to stand in the competitor's point of view, consider if the color mark registration, whether it will harm the interests of competitors in the same industry, or the logo can not be registered.A single color logo, besides must meet the requirements of significance, it can not be functional. In our country's "trademark law" only in the twelfth article stipulates the three-dimensional trademark non functional requirements, But because the color is widely used in dairy products, non-functional requirements for single color logo is also essential. Nonfunctional requirements, refers to the use or purpose of a trademark for goods is not very important, at the same time, also won't affect the cost or quality of goods?To define whether the single color has the function of the most crucial point is whether the enterprise exclusive use of the single color limit the behavior of other business operators,caused the unfair competition of the market.According to the case law of the United States, functional can be divided into functional and aesthetic functionality. If a single color logo to meet one of it,even if the source has to identify goods or services through the use of the effect, still can not get the protection of registered trademark law.