How Do You Trademark a Smell?

@celticeagle (169875)
Boise, Idaho
January 18, 2025 5:05pm CST
Play-Doh has an distinctive scent that is recognized by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It is a registered trademark of the brand. But how do you trademark a smell? First, you must describe it and send it off to the office. Then it gets an official government smell test. Hasbro describes it 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. Is this what you recall as the Play-Doh scent? I remember the saltiness and the cherry. The picture is from clipart-library.com
5 people like this
4 responses
@much2say (56699)
• Los Angeles, California
4h
Trademarking a smell - never thought of that - but I sure know the scent of Play-Doh. I can't even describe it in my own words.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (109799)
• Marion, Ohio
6h
Sounds right
1 person likes this
@jstory07 (140898)
• Roseburg, Oregon
2h
When my kids were small I used to make my own pay doh. We used vanilla flavoring for the scent and they loved it.
@RasmaSandra (81653)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
7h
Yup, I always wondered why Play-Doh was salty but don't remember how it smelled,
1 person likes this