Approaches to Registration of a Color as a Trademark under Civil Law with Respect to Light Industry Products

Difficulties in registering a color as a trademark arise for many reasons. The author questions the existence of a distinguishing ability of a color sufficient for a trademark to perform its function serving as a means of individualization, as well as its functionality and capability to be presented in graphic form. Due to the strongest visual component, it is in the light industry where there is the greatest demand for registration of colors as trademarks. Thus, the light industry is rich in examples of registration, as well as attempts to register, such designations. Most representative examples are the red color of the sole of Christian Louboutin shoes and turquoise color associated with Tiffany & Co. At the same time, in Russia there is no normative basis, judicial practice, or doctrinal studies that would allow us to develop the principles of determining the existence of discernible ability of color or approaches to their establishment. Thus, the paper relies broadly on the legislative and enforcement experience of foreign legal systems that allow us to trace the different logic of compliance of color symbols with trademark criteria, as well as limits for establishing rights to color symbols, which can be useful for adapting best practices in our country.

1. Ancifirova L. Fizika cveta i psihologiya vospriyatiya. — Novosibirsk : NGTU, 2010. — 78 s.

2. Afanas’eva E. G., Afanas’eva E. A. Zashchita intellektual’nyh prav v amerikanskoj industrii mody (analiticheskij obzor) // Pravo intellektual’noj sobstvennosti : sb. nauch. tr. / RAN. INION. Centr social. nauch.-inform. issled. Otd. pravovedeniya ; MGU imeni M. V. Lomonosova. Kaf. predprinimatel’skogo prava ; otv. red. E. G. Afanas’eva. — M., 2017. — S. 132–140.

3. Bazyma B. A. Psihologiya cveta : Teoriya i praktika. — M. : Rech’, 2005. — 147 s.

4. Vorozhevich A. S. Zashchita brendov: strategii, sistemy, metody : uchebnoe posobie dlya magistrov. — M. : Prospekt, 2017. — 144 s.

5. Garal’d B. Psihologiya cveta. — M. : Astrel’, 2009. — 160 s.

6. Dmitrieva E. O., Dmitriev O. V. Problemy pravoprimeneniya v otnoshenii osobyh («netradicionnyh») tovarnyh znakov i znakov obsluzhivaniya // Vestnik Omskogo universiteta. Seriya : Pravo. — 2019. — T. 16. — № 1. — S. 79–91.

7. Kalyatin V. O. Registraciya cveta v kachestve tovarnogo znaka // Patenty i licenzii. — 2004. — № 9. — S. 4–9.

8. Karliev R. A. Problemy registracii netradicionnyh tovarnyh znakov // Intellektual’naya sobstvennost’. Promyshlennaya sobstvennost’. — 2017. — № 11, 12.

9. Pravo intellektual’noj sobstvennosti : uchebnik / A. S. Vorozhevich, O. S. Grin’, V. A. Korneev [i dr.] ; pod obshch. red. L. A. Novoselovoj. — M. : Statut. — 2018. — T. 3 : Sredstva individualizacii. — 432 s.

10. Serov N. V. Lechenie cvetom. Moda i garmoniya. — SPb. : LISS, 1993. — 48 s.

11. Tereshchenko O., Shimanskij E. Problema registracii pozicionnyh tovarnyh znakov v Rossii // Intellektual’naya sobstvennost’. Promyshlennaya sobstvennost’. — 2018. — № 11. — S. 21–28.

12. Shcherbakova E. V. Ohranosposobnost’ cveta v kachestve tovarnogo znaka // Zhurnal Suda po intellektual’nym pravam. — 2018. — № 21. — S. 88–95.

13. Entin V. L. Intellektual’naya sobstvennost’ v prave Evropejskogo Soyuza. — M. : Statut, 2018. — 174 s.

14. Bartow A. The true colors of trademark law; greenlighting a red tide of anti-competition blues // 97 Kentucky Law Journal. — 2008. — Vol. 97. — P. 263–291.

15. Burbidge R. European Fashion Law. A Practical Guide from Start-up to Global Success. — Edward Cheltenham, UK : Elgar Publishing, 2019. — 414 p.

16. Burgos E. O., Alonso-Muñumer M. E., Mora-Figueroa P. E., Quintana J. F., Mendoza A. N. Fashion Law (Derecho de la moda). — Thomson Reuters (Legal) Limited, 2018. — 757 p.

17. Calboli I., Senftleben M. The Protection of Non-Traditional Trademarks: Critical Perspectives. — Oxford University Press, 2019. — 129 p.

18. Desai D. Should Trademark Law Protect Non-Traditional Trademarks? A Look at How Marketing Practices Try to Capture Essences // The Protection of Non-Traditional Trademarks. — Oxford University Press, 2019. — P. 125–146.

19. Gilson J., Gilson A. Cinnamon buns, marching ducks and cherry-scented racecar exhaust: protecting nontraditional trademarks // TMR. — 2005. — Vol. 95. — P. 773–824.

20. Global Legal Guide for Luxury & Fashion Companies / Baker McKenzie. — Thomson Reuters, 2019. — 1248 p.

21. Hughes J. Cognitive and aesthetic functionality in trademark law // Cardozo law review. — Vol. 36:1227. — 2015. — P. 1227–1285.

22. Jimenez G. C., Kolsum V. Fashion Law. A Guide for Designers, Fashion Executives, and Attorneys. — Fairchild Books, 2014. — 388 p.

23. Sreepada S. The New Black: Trademark Protection for Color Marks in the Fashion Industry // 19 Fordham Intell. Prop. Media & Ent. L.J. — 2009. — № 1131. — P. 1131–1168.