Colors, whether one or a combination of them, can be protected under trademark law if the colors otherwise meet the definition of a trademark. In a 1995 case, Qualitex v. Co. v. Jacobson Prods. Co., 514 U.S. 159, the Supreme court rejected earlier lower court decisions that had refused to protect colors as trademarks. Those earlier decisions claimed that businesses would soon deplete the limited supply of colors available, and unfairly prevent others from entering the marketplace, thus creating an undesirable monopoly. The Court in Qualitex pointed out that there are innumerable shades of colors available, thereby rejecting the depletion of colors theory.
