The ‘Nonvisual Play-Doh Scent Mark’: Can It Really Be a Source Identifier?
Can you put a value to a certain smell? Play-Doh thinks so. In February, Hasbro, Inc. filed its application for the scent of Play-Doh. Scent has a powerful way of evoking particular emotions in consumers. We all have a scent that brings us back to a cherished memory — something unique to our experiences growing up. While I can admit that Play-Doh has a distinct scent, I could never quite tell you what it smelled like. To me Play-Doh smelled like… well… Play-Doh.
The fragrance itself is described 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.” While it is rare for a scent to be trademarked in the United States, it is not unheard of. The first scent to be trademarked was a floral fragrance “reminiscent of Plumeria blossoms” used on yarn in 1990. Consumers tend to view unusual features of a product as a way to make it stand out from the others, not to designate who made it, placing a heavy burden on those that want to trademark scents.