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CoorsTek Bioceramics has again secured the rights to market and sell their pink ceramic hip components for orthopedic devices after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the January 2025 Federal appeals court decision in the trademark case against CeramTec.
The U.S. Court of Appeals decision upheld a 2022 order by the U.S. PTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) canceling trademarks registered by CeramTec, which had pursued the claim of trademark rights to the color pink for their ceramic femoral heads. In its order, the TTAB found the color pink covered by the trademark registrations to be functional, and therefore any trademarks related to that color to be unregistrable.
With the Supreme Court decision, CeramTec has effectively exhausted options for continued litigation to pursue registration of trademark rights to the color pink within the U.S.
CoorsTek initiated legal action in 2014 after CeramTec sought to enforce its trademark and trade dress rights to the color pink used in its ceramic hip components. CoorsTek Bioceramics Permallon Tru material for ceramic hip components contains a chromium oxide additive for improved performance, including increased hardness. The pink coloring of components manufactured from Permallon Tru is a natural byproduct of the additive.
“These components are an essential part of the hip arthroplasty value chain,” said Jonathan Coors, CoorsTek CEO. “With half a million hip replacement surgeries performed annually in the U.S. alone, it is vital to have a competitive marketplace and multiple sources of supply. CoorsTek Bioceramics is proud to manufacture state-of-the-art components that offer life changing benefits to hip surgery patients across the globe.”
Source: CoorsTek Bioceramics
