Munich, 20.03.2025: The well-known pink of the Manner wafer is now under trademark protection in Germany. Josef Manner & Comp. AG, based in Vienna, has established its pink as a trademark through years of consistent use and advertising, and was able to meet the strict requirements for registering a color as an abstract color trademark. At the end of February, the color trademark Manner Pink for filled wafers was registered in the Nice class 30 (confectionery and bakery products) at the German Patent and Trademark Office. Manner was advised by trademark law expert Christoph Vischer from the Munich IP law firm WEICKMANN.
Rare trademark protection for colors
The registration of color marks is very rare. The Manner pink joins the abstract single color marks of Bahlsen, Lindt & Sprüngli, FERRERO and Kraft Foods / Mondelez, which have so far been registered in Germany in this class.
An abstract color mark is a special type of mark that protects a specific color or color combination as a mark without a specific shape, outline or particular arrangement. The color is thus protected as a trademark for goods or services of a company in its own right – independently of a specific graphic representation.
To date – as of March 2025 – only 158 color trademarks are listed in the official register of the German Patent and Trademark Office. This is in contrast to around 895,000 German trademarks. Of the 158 color marks, 36 applications have been in the examination process for several years in some cases. Only 122 color marks are currently registered, and only about half of these are single colors.
High hurdles for registration
The first German single-color trademark was “Milka Purple” for chocolate products in 1995. Other examples of single-color trademarks are the red of the German savings banks, Telekom magenta, Nivea blue, the yellow of the ADAC services or of the high-pressure cleaners of the Kärcher company.
A color trademark grants the owner a monopoly on this color for the registered goods and services. Colors are a scarce commodity and are usually seen by consumers as a purely decorative element or functional feature. Therefore, the German Patent and Trademark Office is very restrictive when registering abstract color trademarks.
An abstract color trademark is usually only registered if the applicant can prove that the color has acquired distinctiveness through extensive use. The prerequisite for this is that a significant proportion of the relevant consumers associate the color directly with a particular company or product, which can usually be demonstrated by an opinion poll.
Strategy for registration is crucial
The right filing strategy is crucial for the success of a color mark. This applies all the more to color marks, given the restrictive registration practice of the trademark offices.
The following must be observed when filing color marks:
- Limit the application to those goods/services for which acceptance by the public can actually be considered – avoid broad generic terms.
- In principle, registering color combinations increases the chances of registration compared to registering individual colors.
- National trademark applications instead of EU-wide Union trademark applications. For the latter, as a rule, market acceptance must be demonstrated in all member states.
Manner was advised by trademark law expert Christoph Vischer from the Munich IP law firm WEICKMANN on registering the color pink and in the context of proving its reputation and distinctiveness in Germany. In Austria, Manner was supported by the Vienna law firm Puchberger & Partner, led by Dr. Andreas Gehring and Dr. Maximilian Bonta.