Rebel cartoon stick figure with green hair pointing at a chalkboard with “Scent Marks” written in large chalk letters — representing a blog post about scent marks and non-traditional trademarks.

Non-traditional trademarks are unconventional and unique forms of trademarks. Non-traditional trademarks are less common than traditional trademarks (and certification marks and collective marks) but provide a creative and innovative way for businesses to establish and protect their brand identities.

The largest category of non-traditional trademarks is trade dress, which includes the overall look and feel of a product, product packaging, or service. Trade dress can include color marks, configuration marks, position marks, repeating pattern marks, shape marks, and texture marks. Other (non-trade dress) types of non-traditional trademarks include hologram marks, motion marks, scent marks, sound marks, and taste marks.

A scent mark protects distinctive scent(s) associated with a brand. The scent mark must be used in connection with a good or a service, distinctively identify that good or service as being offered by the brand owner, and be non-functional (e.g., the scent can’t be the primary purpose of the product). In order to be registered as a trademark, an applicant must also prove that the scent mark has acquired distinctiveness (e.g., the scent over a long period of time has become distinctive and brand-identifying to the consuming public).

Scent marks are difficult to register as trademarks – there are currently only 8 scent marks registered on the principal register at the US Patent and Trademark Office. The first scent mark ever registered in the US was for the scent of Plumeria blossom for thread and embroidery yarn, registered in 1991 but now abandoned [1].

The oldest still-active scent mark registration is for the Power Plus Cherry Lubricants scent mark [2], registered in June 2001 in connection with synthetic lubricants for high performance racing and recreational vehicles.

The other seven still-active scent mark registrations include the Moroccanoil Hair Products scent mark [3], registered in November 2011 for hair conditioners, the Grendene Bubble Gum Shoes scent mark [4], registered in June 2015 for shoes, sandals, flip flops, and accessories, the Play-Doh Modeling Compound scent mark [5], registered in May 2018 for toy modeling compound, the Bushnell Hoppe’s 9 scent mark [6], registered in March 2020 for gun cleaning preparations, the Pure Polish Orange Shoe Polish scent mark [7], registered in May 2021 for shoe polish, the Storm Bowling Ball scent mark [8], registered in September 2021 for bowling balls, and the Crayola Crayons scent mark [9], registered in July 2024 for crayons.

Want to search for scent marks yourself? Head over to https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/, select “Field tag and Search Builder” from the drop down box on the left, and try the following search string: (MD:6) AND DE:(scent* smell* fragrance* olfactory*) AND LR:true AND RG:*principal*

Once you have search results, over on the left click on “Sort” and select “Serial (0-9)” to see scent marks sorted oldest to newest or “Serial (9-0)” to see scent marks sorted newest to oldest by filing date. Have fun!

Want to learn more about trademarks? Check out our posts on “Intellectual” Property? Sounds Made Up., 5 Key Facts About Trademarks, and I Think I Understand IP, But Can You Give Me An Example?.