On November 21, 2025, the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) passed an acceptance order towards a smell mark application bearing no. 5860303. As per the said Order, the trade mark applied for is “an Olfactory smell trademark for tyres that smell of Roses” and is a “complex mixture of volatile organic compounds released by the petals interact with our olfactory receptors, creating a rose-like smell. Using the technology developed at IIIT Allahabad, this rose-like smell is graphically presented above as a vector in the 7-dimensional space wherein each dimension is defined as one of the 7 fundamental smells, namely floral, fruity, woody, nutty, pungent, sweet and minty”. The said application was filed in Class 12 in respect of “Tyres for vehicles” by Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. on a proposed to be used basis.
By virtue of being the first-of-its-kind and due to lack of legal framework for registration and protection of smell marks in India, the said application was initially filed in the form of a word mark “floral fragrance/ smell reminiscent of roses as applied to tyres”. The Registrar recognized the absence of appropriate mechanism for the examination of “smell mark applications”. At the same time, the Registrar raised an objection on the ground that it has failed to satisfy the basis criteria of a “trade mark” under Section 2(zb) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 – capable of being represented graphically and capable of distinguishing the applicant’s goods from those of others. The applicant submitted that this mark was first filed as an Olfactory smell trademark in UK under no. UK 00002001416 on October 31, 1994, which was entered on the Register on April 9, 1996, but not renewed after October 31, 2014. Further, the applicant claimed to use the smell mark as part of its business strategy and product development since the year 1995 and relied on acquired distinctiveness over the years. In support of its submissions, the applicant relied on foreign precedents upholding registrations of smell marks as well as the fact that smell mark applications have been granted registrations in several jurisdictions across the world, including but not limited to Australia, Costa Rica, European Union, United Kingdom and United States of America. Moreover, the applicant heavily relied on the report obtained from researchers at IIIT Allahabad, showing a graphical representation of a rose-like smell. In this report, using the technology developed at IIIT Allahabad, this rose-like smell has been graphically presented as a vector in the 7-dimensional space wherein each dimension is defined as one of the 7 fundamental smells, namely floral, fruity, woody, nutty, pungent, sweet, and minty, in the order of their strength.
The CGPDTM considered that two essential issues need to be addressed: (1) whether the mark applied for qualifies to be a trade mark in view of the mandatory requirement of a graphical representation under Section 2(1)(zb) of the Act and (2) whether the mark applied for is devoid of distinctive character. It stated that one of the issues already addressed by the applicant was the ability to be represented graphically, i.e., in place of the word mark applied for, the applicant obtained a graphical representation of the smell mark. Moreover, a word mark in reference to a smell, specifically a generic one as the floral smell in the present scenario, cannot be monopolized to the exclusion of others. As regards the distinctiveness of the mark in question, the CGPDTM considered that in case of non-conventional marks, a prima facie glance may not sufficiently establish distinctiveness and thus, the applicant will have to make out a convincing case. It held that considering the unique and distinct nature of the mark in question when applied to tyres, a customer will have no difficulty in forming an association between the goods (tyres) and the source of the goods (the applicant). In fact, it would leave a strong impression in the minds of the customers owing to the stark dissimilarities with similar products usually containing a rubber smell. Moreover, the scent of roses bears no direct relationship with the nature, characteristics, or use of tyres and is, therefore, arbitrary in its application to such goods.
Thereafter, upon multiple hearings, vide its order dated November 21, 2025, the CGPDTM accepted the smell mark application 
for publication in the Trade Marks Journal.
Source: Order Dated November 21, 2025