Can you legally "own" a colour? Recently, this question was explored by the UK High Court in regards to the purple utilised by confectionery company, Cadbury. Briss J in the Court ruled that Cadbury was entitled to trademark protection for the particular shade of purple so closely identified with the brand and its packaging. The colour is the shade Pantone 2685C. The decision does not mean, however, that Cadbury owns this shade of purple absolutely but instead allows Cadbury to stop its competitors, such as Nestle, from using this shade for its packaging.
The reasoning behind the Court's decision was that consumers of chocolate in choosing their chocolate bar are guided most significantly by the colour of the packaging. Arguably, "Nestle wanted to piggyback on the goodwill and the brand recognition established by Cadbury over 100 years. The court said no."
As many would opine, the field of Law can be boring and dry. There can be times, however, when the legalities of a situation are very, very interesting and a case like this is indicative of such a fact.
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