A Blog by Jonathan Low

 

May 23, 2018

Hasbro Trademarks Playdough's Signature Scent

Wait. You can trademark a smell? JL

Brian Koerber reports in Mashable:

How does one trademark a smell? Well, first of all, you must describe it. And send it off to the office for an official government smell test by an examiner. "Hasbro formally describes [the trademarked scent] as a unique scent formed through the combination of a sweet, slightly musky, vanilla-like fragrance, with slight overtones of cherry, and the natural smell of a salted, wheat-based dough." Most adults will probably just describe it as smelling like their childhood.
Today in unnecessary, power-grabbing, and possibly evil actions by large American corporations, the toy company Hasbro has trademarked the smell of
children's fingernailsPlay-Doh.
The company announced the news, stating that the trademark is now officially recognized by the United States Patent and Trademark Office as a registered trademark of the brand.
But how does one trademark a smell? Well, first of all, you must describe it. And send it off to the office for an official government smell test by an examiner.
"Hasbro formally describes [the trademarked scent] as a unique scent formed through the combination of a sweet, slightly musky, vanilla-like fragrance, with slight overtones of cherry, and the natural smell of a salted, wheat-based dough," the statement reads.

A sweet, slightly musky, vanilla-like fragrance, with slight overtones of cherry, and the natural smell of a salted, wheat-based dough
Most adults will probably just describe it as smelling like their childhood.
Hasbro notes that the dough's distinct smell has become increasingly recognizable since its inception in 1956, and that the recipe has "remained largely unchanged."
“By officially trademarking the iconic scent, we are able to protect an invaluable point of connection between the brand and fans for years to come,” said Jonathan Berkowitz, senior vice president of Global Marketing for Play-Doh.
Fair enough. But it's hard to imagine another dough company making their weirdly colored dough smell so similar to Play-Doh's that it would infringe on the trademark.
While there aren't many scent trademarks recognized by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Hasbro was not the first, and you can't just go trademarking any scent you've concocted all willy nilly. According to the Wall Street Journal, "you have to show that a fragrance serves no important practical function other than to help identify and distinguish a brand."
So trademarking something like perfume or car air freshener is a no-go.
"In some cases, the composition of a perfume or cologne can be protected by a patent, depending on how ground-breaking it is, or by laws that guard against theft of company secrets," the Journal reports.
However, Play-Doh did release its signature scent for its 50th birthday in 2006. It's unclear why any grown adult would ever willingly want to smell like a sweet, slightly musky, vanilla-like fragrance, with slight overtones of cherry, and the natural smell of a salted, wheat-based dough, but OK. The scent is seemingly available today.

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