Naming Your Fragrances

Hey Guys,

I have possbily a 2 part question and need your thoughts and advice on this. Since I am new at starting my own small bath and body company, any advice is appreciated!

#1 If order f/o from a company is it okay to name the scent of my product the same name as the f/o they are selling? Since it would be easier not to go an rename all the f/o scents would get confusing? Unless of course I made a customization of scent. But seems like it would be difficult to rename all the f/o scents for by lotions,butters, etc. Can I just keep the same name that the company uses?

#2 Fragrance Dupes. I would like to purchase some the signature dupes out there like cool water, Amazing Grace, Love Spell etc. What should I put on my labels to let customers know that I did not orginate the name of the scent. Something that would look classy and professional on the labels? Not sure If i should put something like: Our Version of Amazing Grace by Philosophy or Amazing Grace Type body butter, or Compare to Amazing Grace by Philosohy.

Im so confused and to don't want anyone suing me for infringement or any wrongdoing. Just need a nice way of stating what the dupe is, thats elegant.

Thanks guys!:-?

I think the easiest way is to come up with something similar to the original product name. For Cool Water, you might choose a name such as Still Waters that way you won't be infringing on any patented name. You can explain on the label that this is a "Cool Water" type fragrance.

Type scents are not the actual scent, so you cannot call it that. The name is trademarked unless it's become generic, but you don't want to run that risk, so call it something else.

Generic names such as Sandalwood, Rose, Gardenia, Lavender & Cedar, Lavender, Bay Rum, etc. are generic names and can be used freely. The test is if it's in common usage. So if you can get the same scent from several suppliers, it's probably generic and you can use the name freely.

Creative names such as Energy (might be generic, check to see if other people use it) or Beau Brummel or even Relaxing are trademarked. Unless fragrance oils and B&B products are considered different categories and won't cause consumer confusion (probably not), you can't call it that. Well, you can, but the owner (in this case BB) can sue you for disgorgement of profits. They probably won't, but do you really want to risk it?

If you want to use trademarked name as the soap name, you should just ask the trademark owner to use it.

miss_minnesota said:

Hey Guys,

#1 If order f/o from a company is it okay to name the scent of my product the same name as the f/o they are selling? Since it would be easier not to go an rename all the f/o scents would get confusing? Unless of course I made a customization of scent. But seems like it would be difficult to rename all the f/o scents for by lotions,butters, etc. Can I just keep the same name that the company uses?

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Most of the FO companies ask that you do NOT use the name they came up with for the FO. I see people do it all the time - but that doesn't make it right. Sorta makes me nuts when I can tell where a chandler/soaper bought their FO just by the name they are using for their product.

pamielynn said:

Most of the FO companies ask that you do NOT use the name they came up with for the FO. I see people do it all the time - but that doesn't make it right. Sorta makes me nuts when I can tell where a chandler/soaper bought their FO just by the name they are using for their product.

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That surprises me. Why do they care? How would it not be to their benefit? If you smell a citrusy blend you like named "Energy" and it's Brambleberry's Energy FO, then you can order that.

I don't see anything wrong with using the name the company gave the FO, especially b/c so many of them are generic names. I'm sure that Relaxing by Chanel is patented, but I doubt you could patent just Relaxing. I could come up with a blend and name it Relaxing.

Well, as someone completely ignorant on the latest and greatest perfumes and colognes, I'd only recognize the ones my friends wore 20 yrs ago...or the one my husband wears now. That said, relaxing and energy mean nothing to me as a consumer. I much more prefer "bright sweet and tart, this soap smells of freshly squeezed oranges bathed in a cool glass of crisp refreshing grapefruit with a hint of lemon zest".
I mean, that sounds cheesy and I made it up on the spot....but it is soooo much more descriptive to an ignort perfume user than these trade words.
Also, how does bb get away with "a cool water type scent" and a small time seller can't? Do they have copyright permission I suppose???

dixiedragon said:

I don't see anything wrong with using the name the company gave the FO, especially b/c so many of them are generic names. I'm sure that Relaxing by Chanel is patented, but I doubt you could patent just Relaxing. I could come up with a blend and name it Relaxing.

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That's exactly how it works.

Apple cannot be trademarked for apples, but it's a technology brand. Energy drink cannot be used for energy drinks, but can be used for a fragrance name. etc etc.

http://www.inta.org/TrademarkBasics/FactSheets/Pages/TrademarksvsGenericTermsFactSheet.aspx

lionprincess00 said:

Also, how does bb get away with "a cool water type scent" and a small time seller can't? Do they have copyright permission I suppose???

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Either 1) the trademark owner does not enforce their trademark, or 2) adding type at the end is a fair use of the trademark. Or possibly 3) fragrance oils are considered a different category than perfumes so there is no chance of consumer confusion.

wetshavingproducts said:

That's exactly how it works.

Apple cannot be trademarked for apples, but it's a technology brand. Energy drink cannot be used for energy drinks, but can be used for a fragrance name. etc etc.

http://www.inta.org/TrademarkBasics/FactSheets/Pages/TrademarksvsGenericTermsFactSheet.aspx

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I asked a rep at Brambleberry and she said it was fine to use their f/o names. I guess that would be good marketing for them if some one were to look up the name.

but it just seems like to much work to rename all those fragrance oils, not perfume dupes, but just the regular f/o. I need to create an excel spread sheet with changed names? any suggestions?

I like to come up with my own names. It was this forum that helped me rename a fragrance. I don't sell, but I felt odd giving bars of soap called "monkey farts"...its catchy but it felt juvenile, so I named it Tropical Sugar. I think you could name them something else, maybe even something better and not forget, unless your dealing with hundreds of fragrances.

miss_minnesota said:

but it just seems like to much work to rename all those fragrance oils, not perfume dupes, but just the regular f/o. I need to create an excel spread sheet with changed names? any suggestions?

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It depends a lot on the name used. Is it purely descriptive or fanciful? If the former, it's generic, if the latter, you can't use it if they throw a hissy fit. Always best to ask permission than risk a lawsuit.

If other vendors are using the same name for the same type of fragrance, there's a good chance the name is now generic and descriptive.

But honestly, why would you want to reuse their names? Most of them are not very creative and are more or less descriptive. At best, the fanciful ones don't really stand out to me. Energy probably being the exception. But, masculine musk, egyptian musk.... I wouldn't use those names in my soaps. Okay, maybe Egyptian musk, but that name is borderline descriptive.

For me, naming a special soap project is enjoyable - right now I'm making Barkin' Bars to be sold to benefit a dog rescue. But why rack my brain to rename "Oatmeal, Milk and Honey"? That sounds pretty yummy to me.