Title: Registrability of colours and smells as a trademark

Authors: Gulenay Rusen

Addresses: Attorney at Law, Serap Zuvin Law Office, Istanbul, Turkey

Abstract: The scope and functions of the modern trademark have expanded, as civilisation continues to evolve into a modern technological era. In this paper, the issue of whether smells or colours have registrability as a trademark is going to be examined under current trademark law in the European Union (EU). Firstly, this paper will examine the trademark and registration procedure. Secondly, it will analyse whether colours or smells have registrability as a trademark, in the light of new EU legislation and cases. Finally, the paper will evaluate the success of registering colour or smell as a trademark.

Keywords: trademarks; registration; colours; smells; community trademark; trademark law; European Union; EU legislation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIPM.2008.017854

International Journal of Intellectual Property Management, 2008 Vol.2 No.1, pp.75 - 87

Published online: 19 Apr 2008 *

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