A Comprehensive Guide to Protection of Colour Trademark in GCC

The possibilities of registering a colour trademark in the UAE remain to be grey area. Small businesses and startups are unaware that the protection of colour trademarks is possible as per the laws of trademark registration in the UAE. However, you need to assess your brand to determine whether you need to register your brand’s colour as a trademark. Trademark agents in Dubai can help you to assess your mark.

Before registering your colour trademarks in the UAE, you must understand how the country’s trademark law defines colour trademarks, the history of colour trademarks in the UAE, what are the special requirements and how you can enforce them. All such details are explained in the below article. Read ahead.

Why Should You Register a Colour Trademark? 

Before moving to approach trademark agents in Dubai, you should take these questions: ’should I register a colour trademark?’ and ’why would I register my brand colour as a trademark?’. The answer to these questions determines whether or not you should go ahead with the process of trademark registration in the UAE.

Imagine your brand has been using the same colour in all of your marketing for years. In such a case your customers become accustomed to seeing that colour and as such, it turns out into a brand association. Whenever your customer base sees that particular colour, your brand name comes to their mind. Your competitors may start using the same colour to take away a share of your customer base. To stop copycats from exploiting your brand value, you should get protection for your brand’s colour.

Colour Trademarks in the UAE

Many brand owners are unaware that they can register colour trademarks in the UAE. As per the UAE Trademark Law, trademarks can be names, colours, signatures, letters, figures, drawings, and symbols. The UAE Trademark Office granted its first colour trademark in 2007 to the Mars company’s Uncle Ben rice brand. Trademark registration was granted to a specific hue of orange used by Mars for its Uncle Ben range of rice products. If you wish to register your rand colour, consult with trademark agents in Dubai.

Key Things that Make a Brand Colour Eligible for Registration 

You must consider certain factors before registering colour trademarks in the UAE. The key criteria is to prove that your brand colour is distinctive enough to grant protection. If your company wish to a colour trademark in the UAE, you must prove that it is distinctive. Some of the criteria are as follows:

• The colour you choose should be used in a certain way that can help you create your trademark and identify the origin of products and services.
• The use of a distinctive colour combination assists customers or the general public in relating items to their source, which serves to boost the market for a particular source while excluding others from benefiting from this unique mark.
• Provide evidence of use to demonstrate that the colour combination in question is directly identified with the public and the commodities mentioned in the application.

Advantages of Registering a Colour Trademark 

Association of colours in Registering the brand name can have a huge impact on business development for an investor. Colours are visual clues that can communicate powerful messages regarding your brand. Because individuals have colour preferences and choose what easily attracts them, colour can have a greater impact on sales. If you want to register a trademark in colour, choose a colour that is more specific and has key attributes for your business.

Key Aspects of Registering Colour Marks

When an applicant chooses to pursue colour trademarks, there are a few things to consider. The first consideration is whether to claim a colour. If an applicant submits a mark in black and white, they can later amend it as they please and will not be required to re-register with new changes.

Applicants who desire to register a colour must recognise that they cannot own colour for all reasons; instead, they can only utilise it discreetly. For instance, in 2012, Christian Louboutin, a well-known shoemaker, won a lawsuit against Saint Laurent over the usage of red bottoms on shoes worn by women. When another firm attempted to duplicate Louboutin’s red bottoms on shoes for a long period on women’s shoes for a distinctive appearance, they progressively lost the case. The Christian Louboutin claim was legal, according to the court of appeal’s decision, and the trademark was limited to the use of colour in a specific product, i.e., Louboutin used the colour just for shoes and not for any packaging or anything else.

How can Jitendra Intellectual Property assist you?

Trademark registration in the UAE can be a difficult process, especially if you want to register colour trademarks. It is always advisable to seek the assistance of trademark agents in Dubai such as Jitendra Intellectual Property, who can walk you through the full procedure and help you register even the most difficult of brands.  JIP has a team of professionals who have assisted various brands in registering trademarks in the GCC countries. Our expertise can guarantee that your ideas and brand will be protected uniquely. If you require Trademark Registration services in the UAE or have any questions about the registrations, consult with our agents.