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June 2, 2025

Hello Reader,

Color trademarks can be powerful brand assets—but they’re not easy to register. A recent case involving dark green medical gloves shows just how high the bar is.

In In re PT Medisafe Technologies, the company tried to register the color Pantone 3285 C (dark green) for chloroprene medical examination gloves. They claimed it functioned as a trademark for their brand.

The USPTO refused registration, and the Federal Circuit agreed, calling the color generic for gloves in that industry.

Wait—color can be generic?

Yes. In trademark law, something is “generic” if it’s commonly used by many sellers and doesn’t point to a single source. The court applied a modified two-part test (from Milwaukee Tool):

1. What’s the genus of goods? → Chloroprene medical gloves.
2. Does the public primarily see this color as identifying the type of product—or the source?

The answer? The court said dark green gloves are so common in this industry that the color does not signal any particular brand.

Why Medisafe Lost:

• Third-party sellers used the same or nearly identical green for their gloves.
• Medisafe couldn’t show that consumers associate the green color with them alone.
• Their customer declarations and survey were weak (small sample size, leading questions, and conducted by their own counsel).

What You Can Learn from This:

✅ Color can be trademarked—but only if it’s distinctive and used in a way that consistently signals your brand.
✅ Don’t pick a color already used widely in your industry. If others use it, it won’t point back to you.
✅ Surveys and declarations matter. But they must be well-designed, broad, and objective.
✅ You can’t sneak onto the Supplemental Register with a generic mark. Generic is the end of the road—it can’t be saved by distinctiveness.

The Bottom Line:

Before you build a brand around a color, especially in a crowded space, make sure it can actually function as a trademark. If it’s just a color people expect to see on that type of product, it probably won’t stick.

Keep Your Brand Safe and Protected,​
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J.J. Lee and the Trademark Lawyer Law Firm Team!

P.S. Considering a color mark for your product? Let’s make sure it’s legally protectable—before your brand gets washed out by the competition.

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