Chanel Camellia Obtains Trademark from USPTO
The Camellia is the iconic flower of Chanel. (Watch this official video from Chanel to learn more about The Camellia.) Consisting of 25 petals, the Camellia is synonymous with the house of Chanel, having made its first public appearance in 1913 under Coco Chanel. The Camellia has been reinvented and reimagined by successive creative directors, and this ornamental flower is now seen everywhere in various collection pieces. So it is unsurprising that Chanel has long sought to obtain trademark protection for the Camellia. Chanel filed a trademark registration application in connection with the Camellia drawing to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Upon examining the evidence presented by Chanel, the USPTO issued a registration despite the percolating idea that the Camellia merely serves an aesthetic function.
In order for a mark to be registrable as a trademark, the mark has to serve as a unique source identifier. The mark's source-identifying capacity is crucial because the trademark system aims to protect consumers from misleading information as to the source of a product. However, even if the mark can effectively identify the source of a product bearing the mark, registration can be denied if its protection would "put competitors at a significant non-reputation-related advantage". See TrafFix Devices, Inc. v. Mktg. Displays, Inc., 532 U.S. 23, 23 (2001).
The idea of aesthetic functionality, as a subset of the well-established functionality doctrine (barring trademark registration for utilitarian and functional features), is hotly debated. Indeed, there is a doctrinal discord between the positions taken by the Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit. (Read this Trademark Manual Examining Procedure from the USPTO to learn more about the contours of the debate. I will dedicate a post on the topic because it requires a more thorough treatment that lies outside the scope of this post.)
I personally do not agree with the idea of aesthetic functionality largely because it runs counter to another important tenet of trademark law, namely the legal protection of the goodwill the owner of a mark has painstakingly built over the years in the marketplace. Here, the Camellia might have "significant non-reputation-related advantage", but that advantage might well be the incidental benefit of the Camellia's strong ability to conjure up the image of Chanel in the public mind. Therefore, I should say it was a right move on the part of the USPTO to grant registration to the Camellia drawing.
Will Chanel continue to expand its arsenal of trademarks in connection with the Camellia? With the 2D drawing being protected now, Chanel might look further with its 3D rendition of its iconic flower. There is a lesson for trademark owners in this saga. It is wise to document the consistent use of your mark so that it can be later used as evidence that establishes the mark's strength in commerce.
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