patented black

News that British sculptor Anish Kapoor had obtained "exclusive rights" on the colour VantaBlack® - the "blackest black" - caused quite a stir in the media early this year. Patenting colours - is this even possible? Yet the progression of patent practice used to be closely intertwined with the development and patenting of synthetic dyes. The vantablacks of the 19th century were called mauveine, methylene blue, fuchsine and congo red. The traces they left in patent law are still visible today. Colour as such, however, is generally not recognised as a technical feature. Article download (in German) Published in: ipCompetence, vol 15 (Juli 2016) on monopolisation of colours, Manz Verlag (in German)