Cartoon stick figure holding a giant Sharpie marker in one hand and an autographed football in the other hand — representing a blog post about the Sharpie Marker configuration mark trademark registration.

Trademark: Sharpie Marker Configuration

First Used: 1964

First Registered: 2008

Current Owner: SANFORD, L.P. (Newell Brands) [1]

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

Primarily Associated With: writing instruments, namely markers [2]

Brief (and likely incomplete) History [3]:

Need to label something? Need to get an autograph? No matter the need or the type of surface you are writing on, you will likely reach for a SHARPIE® marker. Consistency has been a hallmark of the Sharpie brand over the last 60+ years. Since the beginning in 1964, Sharpie permanent markers have also maintained a remarkable consistency in appearance.

The configuration of Sharpie brand permanent markers is a registered non-traditional trademark. Specifically, for the shape the Sharpie Marker configuration mark protects a writing instrument having a tapered, cigar-shaped barrel, a tapered cap, and a cap to barrel ratio of approximately 1/3 to 2/3. And for the color the Sharpie Marker configuration mark protects a writing instrument having a gray colored barrel and a cap that contrasts with the gray color of the barrel. The color of the cap can be black, but can vary to correspond with the color of the permanent ink.

Unfortunately, Sanford has not released any public information on why the specific shape and color for Sharpie markers was originally chosen. Sanford: if you are reading this, please reach out! We will keep this page updated if we find out more.