A French manufacturer has failed in an attempt to trademark the smell of fresh strawberries.
Paris-based Eden Sarl was looking to use the smell in soaps, face cream, stationery, leather goods and clothing.
A previous attempt to trademark the scent had been dismissed by the European Union’s trademark agency, but the company then took its case to the region’s second highest court.
The company argued that while strawberries may look and taste different, they all smell the same, and as a result could be trademarked.
The court took a different view, and smell experts found that instead of just one aroma, strawberries can in fact have up to five different, distinct scents.
