Hasbro files TM for Play-Doh ‘scent mark’
What’s in a name? What’s in a smell? US multinational toy company Hasbro has filed a trademark for a Play-Doh “scent mark”.
Hasbro filed its mark at the US Patent and Trademark Office on February 14.
The toy business has owned word marks for the term ‘Play-Doh’ since August 2004.
Play-Doh is a modelling clay used by children for arts and crafts. Hasbro became the owner of Play-Doh in 1991.
It is made of flour, boric acid and mineral oil, and was first produced in Cincinatti, Ohio as wallpaper cleaner.
According to Hasbro’s filing, its “scent mark” will be a “unique scent formed through the combination of a sweet, slightly musky, vanilla-like fragrance, with slight overtones of cherry, and the natural smell of a salted, wheat-based dough”.
In October last year, WIPR reported that Fox News presenter, Harris Faulkner, had settled an IP lawsuit with Hasbro.
Faulkner had claimed that a plastic toy hamster made by Hasbro, which was also named “Harris Faulkner”, misappropriated her likeness and name.
The presenter, who had sought damages of $5 million, settled with the toy maker, according to news website Deadline.
Anthoula Pomrening, partner at law firm McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff, told WIPR: "Typically, in filing a trademark application for a scent mark, the applicant would have to be concerned about establishing acquired distinctiveness."
She added: "Here, with over 60 years of use and the recognisability of the 'Play-Doh' scent, Hasbro will likely not have much difficulty in establishing acquired distinctiveness of the scent mark."
The filing of the application for Hasbro’s 'Play-Doh' scent serves as a good reminder to all to "think outside of the box" in choosing marks for a company’s products or services, said Pomrening.
"Although they may be more difficult to obtain, non-traditional marks (think Tiffany’s robin egg blue colour or the roar of MGM’s lion) can develop into strong and valuable marks over time," she said.
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