Can you trademark a color?

[TenthRegeneration]

I recently purchased a geiger counter off of ebay, and I noticed something in the fine print from UPS: "UPS, the UPS Shield trademark and the color brown are trademarks of United Parcel Service of America, Inc. All rights reserved."

Now, this may just be me having a 'blonde moment' (which would be strange, because my hair is brown, but I digress) but can you trademark a color?

And just to generate some more descussion: If you could trademark/copyright a color, which color, and why/why not?

 

[Leorex]

no, they cant, id like to see them try to enforece it .

 

[slevin8989]

yeah i own everything green so all you're money is actually mine so if you could just mail it to me

 

[tijuanatim]

DIBS ON RED!!!!!!

 

[teisjm]

Thats bullshit. If that possible then i'll patent breath and water and get rich if people want to survive... Might as well patent sex while i'm at it.

 

[TenthRegeneration]

I trademark air...and blue...and God....with silly hats. =)

 

[NeedAUserName]

Well, if you can, I call Blellow!, its a combination of blue and yellow!

 

[stormcaller]

Dibs on W (It's a colour letter and number and the best of all of them too)

 

[slevin8989]

I'll trademark clouds everyone see's them and also the sun

 

[Sewblon]

I call Fuchsia. Apparently you can trademark, copyright, or patent anything. I actually own the rights to "A method of existing objectively in the universe" so technically everything belongs to me.

 

[Sparrow]

Dibs on gold.

Now you have to come to me for your golden coloured jewlies

 

[Calobi]

Does it say the color brown or "Brown"? Because Brown is somewhere in their little trademark thingy. Something like "What can Brown do for you?" or the like. So in that case I think they mean more the color in that specific case.

I would trademark teal though. Love that color.

 

[CoziestPigeon]

yeah i own everything green so all you're money is actually mine so if you could just mail it to me

Not in Canada *****.

 

[slevin8989]

yeah i own everything green so all you're money is actually mine so if you could just mail it to me

Not in Canada *****.

Damn it but you still have to pay for the sun so i win

 

[NeedAUserName]

Well, if you can, I call Blellow!, its a combination of blue and yellow!

The colour green a loophole? This is madness.

What is this green? If its anything like my Blellow, then down with Green!

 

[Amanov]

It's actually true (I think), companies can trademark a very specific shade of a colour. So the company who made the counter actually have no right to say they own the colour brown, but they may very well own the rights to that shade.

A good example is Malteaser's shade of red.

They're often referred to as "Spot colours". Very specific colours that are unique to a company and help form their products identity.

 

[rainman2203]

I figured this would be about a copyright on 'canary yellow' or 'chartreuse' or one of the other bullshit colors you don't use in a Crayola 64 pack. There's no way you can copyright a color, especially when thousands of company already have brown in their logos or products.