You could always trademark colours. I know in the early naughties yellow pages had trademarked their yellow #ffdc00

Trademarks aren't patents. If your art team worked to choose a specific color, and your brand relied heavily on it, it would be easy for someone else to trick customers into buying your version if it wasn't trademarked.

It only applies to that very specific color, and it only applies within your market sector, which seems fair to me. If I started making Kadberri chocolate in the same purple wrapper, they'd be right to be upset.

It's difficult (as in you need massive market recognition of which the specific colour is a major component), but you are allowed to trademark specific shades of a colour. Even then, like regular trademarks, you can only make the trademark in the specific field in which it is used commercially. In this case "Cadbury Purple" is registered in class 30, which covers most kinds of chocolate packaging. You can see their registration here.

Kinda, usually if it's a big part of your brand. And it only applies to that companies area of expertise. Like they couldn't stop a car being made with that color. But you can't make chocolate eggs like that. You can't sell tractors the exact same color John Deere makes them.

It's still bullshit though.

This has come from Cadbury's battle with Darrel Lea. Both chocolate makers have used the colour purple for decades.

Last I heard, Cadbury lost and Darrel Lea could use purple for their chocolate still. However, Darrel Lea have gone to a brown paper theme on their chocolates. So, I don't know what's going on. Maybe Cadbury bribed Darrel Lea to change their branding after court action failed? HEaven knows Darrel Lea could have used a financial boost this past decade.

You’ll presumably be amazed at what can be trademarked then. The one interesting thing that no-one has successfully managed to trademark yet in the UK (and I think the US) is a smell.

T Mobile trademarked magenta ffs

Their marketing departments are smoking fucking crack

https://www.iplawwatch.com/2022/08/31/cadburys-purple-reign-high-court-allows-cadbury-to-register-their-iconic-purple-colouring/

Harley-Davidson tried to patent their engine noise at one time.

Now, in the future space year of 2023, they have three bikes that don't even make that noise.