You have a knack for combining fragrances and creating a perfect perfume. You want to share those scents with the world and become a household name — which starts with a great brand. Trademarking your brand can protect your IP and keep your perfume distinct from the competition. The key is to have a brand that truly represents your business and products, as well as one that is unique and distinctive. In today’s blog, let’s discuss what you need to know about trademarking your perfume brand.
What Can You Trademark?
The first thing you’ll want to trademark is your brand name. This name will be on all of your products, and the last thing you want is for a competitor to choose the same name or a name that is too similar, leading to confusion amongst your customer base. Your trademark must be unique to your competitors in order to be considered. A strong trademark is suggestive and distinctive. Fanciful trademarks, such as made up words, tend to hold up well. Once you’ve settled on a name, your IP attorney can help you register the trademark.
Similarly, a logo or a typeset that you use for your trademarked brand name can be trademarked to protect your brand from copycats. You can even trademark the unique names of products or a line of products. In most cases, you won’t be able to trademark a fragrance, however. This comes down to the law of functionality vs. distinctiveness when it comes to trademarks. Play-doh, for instance, has a trademarked fragrance that has become part of its brand but isn’t a function of the product. But since the function of perfume is to emit a certain fragrance, that fragrance generally can’t be trademarked.
Examples of Successful Perfume Trademarks
So what are some popular perfume brand trademarks? Look at some of your favorite perfumes or some of the most distinctive billboards or commercials you see. Here are a few examples of successful perfume brand trademarks:
- Dior. Dior is an offshoot of Christian Dior, a luxury fashion brand. It’s also one of the most popular perfume brands. The parent brand was already well-established when they began to make perfumes. This is a simple brand name, taken from the original founder of the company, Christian Dior, back in 1946. However, because it’s named after a person, it’s very distinct and difficult to confuse with anything else.
- Guerlain. Guerlain opened in 1828 as the French perfume company The House of Guerlain. Guerlain is also named after the original founder, Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain. Guerlain is even known for the Guerlinade accord, a distinct fragrance that is all their own.
- Hermetica. Hermetica is not named after the founders, husband and wife team John and Clara Molloy, but rather named after ancient Hellenistic texts that they felt fit in well with their brand. Although this isn’t the first instance of combining the classics with perfume brands, the Hermetica is less well-known to the general public, thus making their trademark distinct.
- Floraiku. Floraiku is owned by the same founders but is a good example of a fanciful trademark. Inspired by Asian influences and Japanese haikus, the Malloys created their own brand name from a new word, one that was not likely to be on the market beforehand, and trademarked it for future use.
A trademark attorney can help you research trademarks, as well as register all the perfume trademarks you need and navigate the protection of your brand. Contact Garcia-Zamor today to learn more about what we can do for your perfume IP or to schedule a free consultation.
