21 July 2025

The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI), after initially refusing the application, has approved the registration of a colour mark for Polaroid – consisting of a combination of five colours – based on inherent distinctiveness (Swiss trademark No. 829068). Under Swiss law, a colour mark is a trademark consisting exclusively of one or several colours per se, without contours or a specific shape, used to indicate the commercial origin of goods or services. This is a rare achievement, as such marks are generally only registered after evidence of acquired distinctiveness has been submitted, typically through a demoscopic survey. However, in this case, the IPI could be convinced of the mark’s original distinctive character without requiring such proof. This makes the Polaroid mark one of the very few colour marks in Switzerland to be registered on this basis.

Walder Wyss advised Polaroid on all aspects of the trademark proceedings. The Walder Wyss team was led by Sylvia Anthamatten (Counsel, Technology & IP) and included Michael Lysakowski (Senior Associate, Technology & IP).