The difficulty of registering single colours and/or their combinations as trademarks is well known in the EU. However, it is easier to register a position mark, i.e. a mark the protection of which covers the use of a colour on a specific element of a product. In the present case, however, the applicant did not succeed in gaining protection. Certainly, the choice of colours, typical in the sector for which the applicant was seeking protection, was a significant obstacle.

On 11 September 2024, the Court dismissed Väderstad Holding AB’s action against the decision of the Board of Appeal of EUIPO, which refused to register a position trademark (Joint Cases T-361/23, T-362/23, T-363/23, T-364/23). 

In 2019, Väderstad Holding AB applied for trademark registration for the following marks indicated as position trademarks for goods in Classes 7 and 12 of the Nice Classification (Class 7: ‘Agricultural, gardening and forestry machines and apparatus; Agricultural machines; Agricultural machines; Robotic mechanisms used in agriculture; Agricultural machine tools’; Class 12: ‘Tractors for agricultural purposes; Trailers [vehicles]; Trailer hitches for vehicles’).