In the US, it possible to obtain a colour mark per se, but the bar is set very high. It must be established that the public has come to associate the single colour with a brand ("secondary meaning") and that the colour is not primarily functional. For example, in the Cadbury case, if everyone in the industry used the colour purple to indicate that the chocolate to which it is applied is milk chocolate, then the colour could be functional and not source-identifying. Famous (to lawyers at least!) prior examples of colour as a trademark in the US include Owens-Corning "Pink Panther" pink fiberglass building insulation and the greenish colour of dry cleaning pads in the Qualitex case, in which the US Supreme Court confirmed that colour is not per se impossible as a trademark.
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