Unconventional trademarks and their protection in the legal system

We understand for “conventional" trademarks as those that are expressed by words, numbers, images or symbols, that is, they can only be perceived by the sense of sight. On the other hand, the so-called "Unconventional" trademarks can be distinguished by any of the five senses and are expressed through unusual methods, such as, for example, a type of experience used as part of a marketing strategy in order to leave a mark on consumers, thus in this way orienting their preferences towards a certain offer.

The Unconventional trademarks that are mostly registered would be:

Holographic, that is, a three-dimensional image microscopically recorded on a photosensitive film by means of a laser beam, in such a way that when viewed from different perspectives, the image is reflected in three dimensions, for example, holograms used for security purposes in credit cards; Sound-brands, any sound that the consumer associates with a particular brand, such as the unique roar of the MGM lion; Olfactory; they would be a scent that reminds the consumer of a product, an example could be the Play-Doh plasticine; Commercial images, that contain a set of unique characteristics that protect the identity of a product, such as its color, shape, packaging, etc.

In general, these types of trademarks have acquired a certain degree of legal recognition over time; in the international area mainly through the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks, (March 27, 2006), which creates a framework of protection for these brands and allows each member country the freedom to register all kinds of trademark that it considers valid. The mentioned Treaty indicates in its regulations the way in which the interested parties must request the representation of some of the most frequent unconventional trademarks, see below:

“a) This Treaty shall apply to marks consisting of visible signs, it being understood that only the Contracting Parties that accept the registration of three-dimensional marks shall be obliged to apply this Treaty to said marks.

b) This Treaty shall not apply to holograms or to marks that do not consist of visible signs, in particular sound marks and olfactory marks.”

And, at the national regulation, through Andean Decision 486, this expressly considers some unconventional marks, such as colors, sounds, olfactory marks and the three-dimensional mark, however, it is relatively ambiguous with respect to other type of signs that can be recognized as trademarks (see subsection g)). g)).

“Article 134.- For the purposes of this regime, any sign that is capable of distinguishing products or services in the market shall constitute a trademark. Signs capable of graphic representation may be registered as trademarks. The nature of the product or service to which a trademark is to be applied will in no case be an obstacle to its registration. The following signs may constitute trademarks, among others:

a) the words or combination of words;

b) images, figures, symbols, graphics, logos, monograms, portraits, labels, emblems and shields;

c) sounds and smells;

d) letters and numbers;

e) a color delimited by a shape, or a combination of colors;

f) the shape of the products, their containers or wrappings;

g) any combination of the signs or means indicated in the previous sections."

One case that obtained great jurisprudential relevance in the field of unconventional trademarks was that of Ralf Sieckman[1].

El sujeto en cuestión, intentó registrar ante la Oficina Alemana de Marcas y Patentes una marca olfativa, en las clases 35, 41 y 42 de la Clasificación de Niza, sin embargo, para que su solicitud tuviera más posibilidades de éxito, hizo una descripción del olor a registrar : «sustancia química pura cinamato de metilo éster metílico del ácido cinámico», acompañándola de la indicación de sitios en donde se podían encontrar muestras del olor: «se pueden obtener muestras de esta marca olfativa dirigiéndose a los laboratorios locales…”  e indicó también cuál era la fórmula química del olor: «C6H5-CH=CHCOOCH3». Finalmente presentó una muestra de olor en un recipiente y añadió que se trataba de «un aroma balsámico afrutado con ligeros toques de canela».

The application for registration was rejected by the Court of the European Union, who came to the conclusion that » no cabe excluir que también puedan constituir marcas aquellos signos como los olfativos que, si bien no son perceptibles en cuanto tales por la vista sí pueden resultar visibles mediante una representación gráfica», but only «se puede constituir como marca a un signo que en sí mismo no pueda ser percibido visualmente, con la condición de que pueda ser objeto de representación gráfica, en particular por medio de figuras, líneas o caracteres, que sea clara, precisa, completa en sí misma, fácilmente accesible, inteligible, duradera y objetiva».

This requirement referred to the representation «clara, precisa, completa en sí misma, fácilmente accesible, inteligible, duradera y objetiva» of the trademark, is the condition that the Court has used since then, and it is the one that various courts or judges put into practice today as criteria when deciding whether an unconventional trademark can be recognized as a trademark or not.

According to this, we can conclude that the main problem that come up when registering an unconventional trademark is to determine the way in which these brands can be represented graphically, so that the owner can enjoy the rights granted by that registration. In Peru, there has not been a considerable amount of trademark history for this type of signs, however, over the years, large companies will use these criteria to design types of trademarks that allow them to connect with consumers in a more efficient way, directly, based on their preferences and the impact of what they can see, hear or feel.

Author: Vicente Campodónico – Intellectual Property Specialist
Law Firm: OMC Abogados & Consultores

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[1] Court of Justice of the European Union. Sentence C-273, December 12, 2002 [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:62000CJ0273:ES:PDF].