"Green" dominates US trademark requests

Survey finds "green" was the most popular word featured in new trademark requests last year

Green brands led a huge increase in trademark applications to the US Patent and Trademark Office last year, underlining the extent to which environmental issues are dominating the thinking of many marketing departments.

According to a new report by US law firm Dechert, a record 300,000 trademark applications were registered last year and "environmentally conscious green branding was leading the surge".

"US companies have become much more interested in using brand names and slogans to communicate the fact that their products are environmentally friendly," said Glen Gundersen, chair of the Trademark Group at Dechert, in an emailed response to BusinessGreen.com.

The report, entitled Trends in Trademarks, said that the increase in green trademark applications suggested that current interest in green marketing is likely to continue as firms seek to exploit their new trademarks through new logos, brand names and ad campaigns.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the report found the word 'green' was the most popular vehicle for communicating environmental awareness. Applications more than doubled last year from 1,100 to more than 2,400.

Clean, earth, friendly, eco and environment were other popular terms included in businesses’ trademark proposals.

The green trend was also accompanied by an increase in trademark applications containing the word organic, rising by nearly 60 per cent from 450 filings in 2006 to 700 a year later. Only a third of the organic proposals covered food products, as cosmetic and clothing products sought a place in the eco-friendly market.

However, Gunderson warned that the glut of green trademarks could make it increasingly difficult for marketing departments to differentiate between their green products and those of competitors, given that many companies are planning to use similar terms and images in their branding.

"In 2008, we will be keeping an eye on whether companies begin to think outside the box and invent new ways to communicate an eco-conscious message that stands out from the crowd," said Gundersen.

He added that the sheer number of green trademarks could also undermine the strength of some firms' new trademarks, explaining that many of the 'me-too' filings put forward by firms will either not merit legal protection or will be very weak trademarks.