Alerts5.13.20
Federal Circuit Holds Packaging Color Combinations Can Be Inherently Distinctive
Highlights
The USPTO cannot summarily refuse applications to register packaging color combinations without first considering their inherent distinctiveness
In ascertaining whether packaging color combinations meet that qualification, the USPTO must apply the Federal Circuit’s Seabrook factors
The lack of a peripheral border or shape is not fatal to inherent distinctiveness
Color combination marks on product packaging can be inherently distinctive, and thus registrable as trademarks without proof of acquired distinctiveness, according to an April ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in In re Forney Industries, Inc.
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