Can you own a color?

Hex Code: #0ABAB5 • Pantone: 1837C

The iconic turquoise shade made its first Tiffany & Co., appearance back on the 1845 cover of their Blue Book catalogue. Over a decade later In 1998 they gained a color trademark for their iconic turquoise shade along with a trademark for their blue boxes with white ribbons. Come 2001, Pantone standardized the color exclusively for Tiffany & Co, calling it Tiffany 1837 to reference their founding year. 

Hex Code: #e0218a• Pantone: 219C

I’m a Barbie girl in a lawsuit world. Back in 1997, Mattel sued MCA records because of Aqua’s song Barbie Girl.  The suit had 11 claims, one of which involved using ‘Barbie Pink’ on the album art. The court ended up ruling that the song was protected under parody laws. In 2001, Mattel ended up filing a trademark for ‘Barbie Pink’ in more than 100 categories. And Mattell ironically used an altered version of the song Barbie Girl for marketing purposes a few years back. 

Green Hex Code: #367C2B • Pantone: 364 C

Yellow Hex Code: #FFDE00 • Pantone: 109 C

In 1837, the blacksmith John Deere created the first successful self-scouring steel plow and thus today’s largest and most popular farming equipment company was born. Deere’s dual color scheme was registered as a trademark in 1988 and they have since been fighting legal battles against competitors. In 2017, pesticide sprayer company, FIMCO, went to court over the usage of green and yellow. The court ruled in Deere’s favor, stating that ‘John Deere’s green and yellow color combination has qualified as a “famous” trademark since the late 1960s and that FIMCO intentionally chose the colors to create an association with the John Deere brand.

Hex Code: #644117 • Pantone: 476 C

Founded in 1907 by two teenagers in Seattle, the mailing service, UPS, tried several colors out before settling on brown and gold. In 1916 they decided they needed an unconscious color that would add elevated advertising color that would elevate customers’ perception of the brand. They chose brown as it was a symbol of ‘style and elegance and first-class travel” thanks to the luxurious railroad travel brand Pullman Company. UPS eventually filed for a trademark In 1988, which was approved. 

Hex Code: #FFFF99• Pantone: YELLOW 0131 C

Although you can choose from multiple Post-it note colors at your local office supply store, there’s one color that holds more power over the rest. Their original color, Canary Yellow was chosen by chance in 1980. When they were testing their adhesive solution, scraps of yellow paper were on hand in the factory and consequently used. 16 years later In 1996, parent company 3m filed for a trademark for the recognizable color and got it published in 1997. 

Hex Code: #E20074 • Pantone: Process Magenta

T-Mobile has been protective over its distinctive magenta color and has had legal grounds to do so since receiving a trademark in 2008. In 2013, T-Mobile filed a trademark infringement against carrier competitor, AT&T for using a magenta-ish color for their prepaid phone service, Aio. A US judge sided with T-mobile and told AT&T they weren’t allowed to use colors similar to T-Mobile’s. However, in 2020, T-Mobile lost exclusive rights to the color magenta in France. After taking the startup insurance company, Lemonade to court against using magenta, France’s patent and trademark office sided with Lemonade and allowed them to use pink in the country.