Cartoon stick figure holding a bright blue Moroccanoil box with scent permeating of the notes musk, vanilla, rose, and lavender — representing a blog post about the Moroccanoil scent mark trademark registration.

Trademark: Moroccanoil Scent

First Used: 2007

First Registered: 2011

Current Owner: MOROCCANOIL, INC. [1]

Trademark Type: non-traditional trademark; trade dress; configuration mark; scent mark

Primarily Associated With: hair conditioners, namely, curl creams, hydrating styling creams, intense moisturizing masques, and styling and finishing oils [2] [3] [4]

Brief (and likely incomplete) History [5]:

Moroccanoil founder Carmen Tal, a former salon owner and fashion industry professional, faced an all too familiar dilemma. A bad hair treatment before leaving on vacation to Israel left her hair dry and color-damaged. Thousands of miles from home, she decided to join a friend at a salon in Tel Aviv, where a hairstylist used an argon oil treatment to both condition and style her hair. The results were almost instantaneous: her damaged and dry hair was transformed to shiny, smooth, and manageable.

Impressed by the dramatic change, Tal brought the product back to Canada and began using it in her own beauty routine. She shared it with friends, clients, and stylists, who all experienced similarly remarkable results. Convinced the oil had broader appeal, Tal secured North American distribution rights from the oil manufacturer, and when demand quickly outpaced supply, she acquired the company and the Moroccanoil brand was born.

So what exactly is argan oil? It is a nutrient-rich oil extracted from the kernels of Moroccan argan tree fruit through a labor-intensive process traditionally performed by Berber women. Valued for its moisturizing properties, it is used in both food and personal care. It was the key ingredient in the original Moroccanoil Treatment and remains central to the brand’s entire product line today.

Today, Moroccanoil owns two unique non-traditional trademark registrations: the Moroccanoil Packaging configuration mark, protecting the turquoise blue and copper orange colored letter "M" that form its product packaging, and the Moroccanoil Scent mark (a distinct aroma the company calls Fragrance Originale) that protects “a high impact fragrance primarily consisting of musk, vanilla, rose, and lavender.” The Moroccanoil Scent mark is one of only eight active scent marks currently registered on the principal register at the US Patent and Trademark Office!