The future of work. The Making Of Today's Office. World Creative Rankings. After two decades, Cadbury finally cedes its purple trademark. By Imogen Watson - February 5, Cadbury eventually admits defeat on its colour purple claims. Share to Twitter.
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Accordingly, Cadbury wrote to the registrar asserting that its earlier trade mark registration set out a series of two marks: i the colour purple applied to the whole visible surface of the packaging; and ii the colour purple being the predominant colour applied to the whole visible surface of the packaging.
Cadbury then appealed to the Court of Appeal. Instead, the Court found that the wording of the description actually gives rise to an unknown number of different signs consisting of variations of the use of the colour purple on the packaging.
The various alternatives covered by the description were not intended to identify separate marks, the Court decided, but were parts of a generalised but unacceptably imprecise description of a single mark. The Court of Appeal found that it was important to consider what the reader of the description of the mark would think, having knowledge of the requirements for the registration of series marks.
This is a sensible approach — any other decision would introduce uncertainty to the trade marks register and difficulty in examining trade marks. Emma advises clients in all aspects of intellectual property protection, strategy, and enforcement.
The contents of this publication are for reference purposes only and may not be current as at the date of accessing this publication. They do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such.
The Cadbury brothers are thought to have picked the colour as a tribute to Queen Victoria, and it has been used on their chocolate wrappers for more than years.
Purple reign. But this particular purple has seen legal battles with more bumps than a Picnic bar, and it is still not out of the woods yet. In , Cadbury was granted a trademark for the tint Pantone c to be precise to be used on certain chocolate goods, such as the iconic Dairy Milk.
Colour registrations are notoriously difficult to obtain. He believed the colour purple had been central to marketing the brand, and used in advertising campaigns to distinguish it - remember the Gorilla playing the drums the Phil Collins?
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