Trademark Law: You should not file for a trademark consisting 'only' of color at the beginning

There are trademarks that consist 'only' of color.

Examples of well-known trademarks consisting 'only' of color include the MONO eraser (No. 5930334) and 7-Eleven (No. 5933289).

While these trademarks consisting 'only' of color may appear to have a broad scope of rights, I believe they should not be filed for in the early stages of a business.

This is because to obtain registration for a trademark consisting 'only' of color, it is necessary to acquire an extremely high level of goodwill (distinctiveness) through use, and collecting evidence to prove that such goodwill (distinctiveness) has been acquired is also very difficult.

For the MONO eraser (No. 5930334), it took about two years from filing to registration. Also, there are cases like the Kawasaki (motorcycle) green (Trademark Application No. 2015-30667) that have not been registered even after eight years from filing.

If you want to acquire rights for a trademark that uses color,

1. First, obtain registration for a trademark that combines color with text or a logo,
2. Build up goodwill (distinctiveness) in the color by using the registered trademark,
3. Aim to turn the color into a trademark consisting only of color after that color becomes famous,

I believe this is the safe approach.

●Reference Information
・MONO eraser (No. 5930334)
・7-Eleven (No. 5933289)
・Kawasaki (motorcycle) green (Trademark Application No. 2015-30667) was filed on April 1, 2015, and as of April 1, 2023, it is still pending in an appeal against the examiner's refusal.

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