A trademark could be a sound three dimensional mark or smell mark [Expert Review]

Last updated : Sept 1, 2022

Written by : Louella Grobstein

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A trademark could be a sound three dimensional mark or smell mark

Can a trademark be a sound a three-dimensional mark or a smell mark?

Most people think of trademarks as logos or words that distinguish or identify the source of a brand, good or service. However, these traditional word and design marks are only two categories of trademark. Trademark protection can also extend to sounds, scents, flavours, colours, textures and product appearance.

What is a 3-dimensional trademark?

A three-dimensional trademark that is comprised of a shape that is acknowledged by consumers as a shape that does not go beyond the scope of the shape of the designated goods, etc. itself, is deemed as lacking distinctiveness.

Can a trademark be a smell?

Can I Trademark an Odor or Smell? Yes, you can trademark an odor if it is not a functional aspect of the product. For example, a trademark for plumeria scent for sewing thread was registered in 1990.

Can 3D Mark be a trademark?

3D marks can now be trademarked and are done so because of the intense competition in the Indian Marketplace. It is considered a non-conventional/non-traditional trademark that uses the 3-dimensional shape of a commodity/packaging to appear different from other products.

Can a trademark be a sound?

A sound trademark is a trademark where the sound is utilized to perform the trademark function of uniquely distinguishing the commercial source of products or goods and services. A sound mark, in recent times, has been increasingly used as a trademark in the marketplace. It is a non-conventional trademark.

Can sound be used as a trademark?

A sound, represented by a series of musical notes with or without words can be trademarked in India. Sound trademarks are very popular in the US and the awareness about sound trademark is fast raising in India.

Which of the following can be considered as a trademark?

A phrase, word, symbol, device, or even a color are all eligible for a trademark. Anything that distinguishes the goods of your party or company from another qualifies. However, the item must be used in a commercial setting to obtain protection from the law.

Which of the following is not protected by trademark laws?

Generic terms are not protected by trademark because they refer to a general class of products rather than indicating a unique source.

In what aspects the use of a trademark can be extended?

1) Protect a distinct sound. 2)Protect a particular colour combination and style. 3)Protect a distinct shape and packaging 4) Protect a functionality.

What is a smell mark?

Smell Marks. When the source identifier of goods is a smell, then it is termed as Smell Mark. Smell Marks are a lot tougher than sound marks to be registered because they lack any form of representation.

What smells have been trademarked?

According to the patent and trademark office, other active trademarks for scents, smells, odors and fragrances include the â€œflowery musk scentâ€ used in Verizon stores and a bubble gum scent used for shoes and flip flops by the retailer Grendene.

How is smell registered?

To obtain registration of a smell mark applicants must be able to visually represent the product's scent and must show it is distinctive from the product itself. A bottled sample of the smell for example would decay over time and could therefore not be kept on a trademark register.

Can shapes be registered as a trademark?

Products of distinctive shapes may be granted protection under the purview of trademark law. The shape of the Coca-Cola bottle, the Weber barbecue, and the shape of the Toblerone chocolate bar or Hershey's Kisses are all stellar examples of shape or 3-dimensional trademarks.

Which of the following is not an intellectual property law * 1 point?

Patent, Trademark, Industrial Design all are Intellectual Property rights. So the answer is Password. Option C is the Answer. It will never be a example of Intellectual Property rights.

What does IP stand for in patents?

Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce.

Can smell be trademarked in India?

Conclusion. The Indian Intellectual Property Law has readily accepted sound mark as valid trade mark, capable of registration and protection. The same law has been reluctant to accept smell marks as valid trade mark.

What is a sound logo called?

A sound logo (or audio logo or sonic logo) is a short distinctive melody or other sequence of sound, mostly positioned at the beginning or ending of a commercial. It can be seen as the acoustic equivalent of a visual logo. Often a combination of both types of logo is used to enforce the recognition of a brand.

Can a sound be copyrighted?

All sound recordings created after January 1, 1978, are automatically protected by copyright. A sound recording is considered created when it is â€œfixedâ€ in a phonorecord for the first time.

Which company trademarked its sound?

December 5, 2018 - Classic American brand Zippo today announces the sound trademark of its iconic windproof lighter.

What are the 3 types of trademarks?

What you'll learn: Arbitrary and Fanciful Trademarks. Suggestive Trademarks. Descriptive Trademarks.

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Comment by Jarod Kassim

Thanks for this great article

Thanks for your comment Jarod Kassim, have a nice day.
- Louella Grobstein, Staff Member

Comment by Cagini6

hi everyone i'm attorney aidan durham with 180 law co in colorado and you're watching all up in your business on this episode of all up in your business we're going to talk about some fun unique non-traditional types of trademarks things that you likely encounter on a daily basis but may not even realize that those things are actually trademarks but first don't forget to like subscribe and share and check the description for links to additional information and resources you can find a link to download my free introduction to trademarks guide as well as information on my all-inclusive trademark registration package and my online diy trademark course okay so most of us know about some of the common types of trademarks business names and logos are probably the most popular types of trademarks that we think about and that businesses will typically use as trademarks but a trademark can be really anything a trademark is any word name symbol or device or any combination of those things that identifies and distinguishes goods and services and indicates the source of those goods and services so again any device word symbol thing that's used to indicate the source of a product or to distinguish it from a product of somebody else i've said a lot before that a trademark isn't a trademark until it becomes a trademark same goes for a trademark isn't a trademark unless it's a trademark so anything that's a trademark can be a trademark get it so of course we know that business names slogans catchphrases logos these things can function as trademarks but there are a lot of other things outside of just words and logos that can be considered trademarks again anything that's used to identify and distinguish the goods or services sounds for example can function as a trademark and there are actually a lot of pretty famous sound trademarks out there you know those chimes that you hear when you're watching your favorite show on nbc yep that sound is a trademark of nbc when we hear it we know we're watching a wonderful nbc show how about this familiar sound that boring lion sound is a trademark of mgm studios this one too that's a trademark of espn i'm not sure how relevant this one really is anymore but any of you remember tevo it was like the prehistoric dvr any of you remember that kind of annoying sound that it would make any time you would try to like click things or do anything yeah well you guessed it that's a trademark too apparently tevo's still around maybe the more timely and appropriate uh sound that you guys would recognize is this one good old netflix we've all heard it a lot probably especially more in this past year even this one that's a trademark of 20th century fox but it's not just sounds smells can function as a trademark as well i would argue that my dog rocky has a trademark smell it's not a good one but when i smell it i know that that smell came from rocky the smell of play-doh for example is a registered trademark of hasbro technically the trademark is a scent of a sweet slightly musky vanilla fragrance with slight overtones of cherry combined with the smell of a salted wheat-based dough did any of you actually recognize that's what that smell was i certainly didn't it always just kind of smells like play-doh but i think that's the point when we smell that smell we think of play-doh just like when i smell that other smell i think of rocky verizon has a registered trademark of a flowery musk scent the idea is that if we walk into a cell phone store and smell that recognizable flowery musky smell we know that we've walked into a verizon store don't ask me why all these brands use musky smells i guess that's just a trend or something and this is actually kind of a relatively new thing to enter the trademark world the first smell trademark in the united states was a plumeria blossom scented embroidery thread that was issued in 1990 and especially compared to the name and logo and other kinds of conventional styles of trademarks these trademarks are pretty rare the main reason behind that is because you have to show that the scent or the smell serves no important function other than to help identify and distinguish the brand so that means the smell can't be part of the function or the purpose of the product like perfumes or air fresheners perfume scents aren't considered trademarks because that's what the purpose of the product is it's a scent and that's why it exists the sense serves no other purpose and it doesn't really help us identify or distinguish where this thing came from colors and shapes can also be trademarks again kind of like with smells shapes and colors don't always count as trademarks particularly if they serve a function or if they're essential to the use or purpose of the product or the service that classic canary yellow color of a post-it note is a registered trademark as is that brown color of those ups trucks same goes for those well recognized red bottoms of louboutin shoes the point here isn't that these companies own these colors and nobody else can use them in any other way clearly we've all seen and probably owned plenty of red shoes but if we own a black shoe with a red bottom we know we're extra fancy and speaking of fancy those light blue jewelry boxes are also a trademark of tiffany let's compare that with for example that beautiful pink color of pepto-bismol when they tried to register the trademark for that color it was denied because it was deemed functional that pink color was intended to provide a pleasing color for someone who has an upset stomach and because of that function they didn't really consider it a trademark the color serves an actual purpose in the product it's supposed to help make us feel better it's not just to let us know that we're taking pepto-bismol same goes with shapes of products a shape of a product can be a trademark as long as it's not functional coca-cola has a trademark for that distinctive shape of their bottles and that lovely distinctive shape of a delicious toblerone candy bar is also a trademark even textures can be considered trademarks this company has a registered trademark for their flocked texture on a label to be used on a glass bottle the point with all of this is trademarks are not exclusive to just words and images potentially anything can be a trademark as long as it's used as a trademark i always recommend working with an experienced trademark attorney if you're trying to get a registered trademark but that is a million times more important if you're trying to register one of these non-traditional types of trademarks just because you use a certain color on your product or your product packaging or a certain sound and connection with your services or something like that doesn't necessarily mean it's a trademark or that it's eligible for registration with the united states patent trademark office as i was researching getting ready for this video a lot more of what i found was why this trademark didn't get registered or why this one didn't get registered and these were from big companies i'm talking big corporations with millions and millions of dollars to throw

Thanks Cagini6 your participation is very much appreciated
- Louella Grobstein

About the author

Louella Grobstein

I've studied zootomy at Salem State University in Salem and I am an expert in optical astronomy. I usually feel infuriated. My previous job was biomedical equipment technician I held this position for 27 years, I love talking about surfing and karate. Huge fan of Hunter S. Thompson I practice paintball and collect vintage cars.

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