Paradoxically or otherwise, makers of products like perfume cannot trademark their scents, because the fragrance needs to be “nonfunctional.” The Play-Doh scent is “one of only about a dozen scent trademarks that the [U.S. Patent and Trademark Office] has recognized to date, including Verizon’s ‘flowery musk’ store scent, the bubble-gum smell of Grendene jelly sandals, and the scent of strawberries with which Lactona toothbrushes are ‘impregnated.'” [Lowering the Bar]

Filed under: trademarks