Non-traditional marks · Color
Can you trademark a color, and how do you do it?
Tiffany’s blue box and Owens Corning’s pink insulation are registered trademarks. A color can be one too, but the USPTO sets a much higher bar than it does for a name or logo. This guide covers what it takes, what the application has to show and when a color can’t be registered at all.
By Bill, Business Growth Expert · Verified and checked on November 2, 2026
Short answer
Yes, but only once buyers already recognize the color as your brand. The USPTO treats a single color as never inherently distinctive, so you have to prove acquired distinctiveness (also called secondary meaning) with evidence such as years of exclusive use, “look-for” advertising and sales figures. The color also can’t be functional or generic for your type of product. The application needs a drawing that shows where the color appears, a written color claim and a description, plus the USPTO fee of $350 per class.
What does a color have to pass to be registered?
Every color application is judged against three questions. Failing any one of them ends the application, however well the color is known.
Is it functional?
A color that makes the product work better, cost less or meet a safety need can’t be owned. Yellow on safety signs and a color that simply results from how something is made are typical examples.
Is it generic for the product?
If buyers see the color as normal for that kind of product, nobody can register it. The USPTO’s examples include dark green for medical gloves and red for certain woodworking cutting tools.
Do buyers link it to you?
You must show that customers see the color and think of one company. This is the acquired distinctiveness test under Section 2(f), and the USPTO calls the evidence burden “a high bar.”
Why is a color harder to register than a name?
A made-up word like “Kodak” works as a brand the day it launches. A color doesn’t. Buyers are used to seeing color as decoration, so the law assumes they won’t read it as a brand signal until a business has trained them to. The Supreme Court confirmed in Qualitex Co. v. Jacobson Products (1995) that color alone can be a trademark, and in Wal-Mart v. Samara Brothers (2000) that features like color on a product itself always need proof of secondary meaning.
Combinations behave a little differently. A specific arrangement of several colors on packaging can sometimes be inherently distinctive, depending on how unusual the design is. A single color applied to a product or across a service never is.
Logo in color, or color as the mark? If your logo happens to be teal, you are registering the logo and can claim the color as part of it. That is an ordinary application. This guide is about the harder case, where the color itself, with no words or shapes, is the thing you want to own. For the logo route, see trademarking a logo vs a name.
What goes into a color trademark application?
| Part | What the USPTO expects |
|---|---|
| Drawing | A special-form drawing showing the color on the product or in the service setting. The object itself is drawn in dotted lines to show placement only. |
| Color claim | A statement naming the color or colors claimed as a feature of the mark. Generic names like “blue” are used; a Pantone reference is optional. |
| Description | Explains exactly where the color appears, for example “the color blue applied to the entirety of a filter,” and that the dotted-line shape is not claimed. |
| Basis | Normally use in commerce, because you need existing use to prove secondary meaning. |
| Specimen | Photos of the product, or for services, advertising or photos showing the color as it is used. Different product shapes are fine if the color use is consistent. |
| Section 2(f) evidence | Years and extent of exclusive use, advertising that points to the color, sales, unsolicited media coverage, customer declarations and survey results. |
| USPTO fee | $350 per class, plus surcharges if the goods or services description is written free-form. |
The drawing and description are where many color applications fail before anyone looks at the evidence. The description has to match the drawing exactly, and claiming the color “on packaging” when your specimen shows it on the product itself will draw a refusal.
What evidence proves a color points to your brand?
The USPTO’s five-years-of-use shortcut under Section 2(f) rarely carries a color on its own. Expect to build a file that shows the public, not just your customers, connects the color with you:
- “Look-for” advertising. Ads that tell buyers to look for the color. Owens Corning’s “Think Pink” campaign is the textbook example.
- Exclusivity. Proof that competitors don’t use the same or a near color on similar products. Widespread use by others is hard to overcome.
- Scale. Sales, advertising spend and how long the color has been used consistently, with dated examples.
- Recognition. Media coverage that mentions the color, customer declarations and, for contested cases, a properly designed consumer survey.
If the evidence isn’t there yet, the Supplemental Register is an option, as long as the color isn’t functional or generic. It gives you the ® symbol and a public record while you keep building recognition.
How do you get started?
- Search for existing color registrations in your class. Color marks are listed with a design-code and description search, not a word search, so our comprehensive search covers more than a name check can.
- Check that no competitor uses the same or a close shade on similar goods or services.
- Pull together dated evidence of use and advertising before you file, rather than waiting for the refusal.
- Decide the exact placement you are claiming, then prepare the drawing, color claim and description to match it.
- File in each class where the color is used. Secure Mark USA can prepare and file the trademark application; expect an Office Action asking for, or questioning, your distinctiveness evidence.
Want to know if your color is already claimed in your class?
Book a comprehensive searchColor trademark questions
Can you trademark a color?
Yes. A color can be registered as a trademark if it is not functional, is not generic for the goods or services, and has acquired distinctiveness, meaning buyers recognize it as identifying one company.
Is a single color inherently distinctive?
No. The USPTO treats a single color as never inherently distinctive, so the owner must prove acquired distinctiveness under Section 2(f) or register on the Supplemental Register.
Do I need a Pantone number to trademark a color?
No. The application must name the color and describe where it appears. A Pantone or other color-system reference is optional but can help define the shade.
How much does it cost to trademark a color?
The USPTO base fee is $350 per class. The larger cost is usually gathering evidence of acquired distinctiveness, such as advertising records and surveys.
What makes a color functional?
A color is functional if it is essential to the product’s use or purpose or affects its cost or quality, such as yellow for safety signs. Functional colors cannot be registered.
Can a color combination be easier to register?
Sometimes. A distinctive arrangement of several colors on packaging may be inherently distinctive, depending on the design. A single color never is.
Related guides
Legal disclaimer: This guide is general information, not legal advice. Secure Mark USA is a trademark filing service, not a law firm, and does not employ attorneys. Color marks often draw refusals on functionality or distinctiveness; a licensed trademark attorney can advise on building and arguing that evidence.
Sources
- USPTO: Non-traditional marks presentation (color marks), December 2025, checked November 2, 2026
- USPTO: Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure, section 1202.05 (color marks)
- 15 U.S.C. §1052(e)(5) and (f): Functionality and acquired distinctiveness
- Qualitex Co. v. Jacobson Products Co., 514 U.S. 159 (1995)
- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Samara Brothers, Inc., 529 U.S. 205 (2000)
- USPTO: Trademark fee schedule, checked November 2, 2026
Verified and checked on November 2, 2026.