No, a color cannot be patented.

I suspect they can but would need to verify.

@Darth_Algar – That is what I thought too.
I don’t recall telling the clerk to make Ralph Lauren’s “Chamois”. I do know that they can duplicate a color by name if it is in their system.
When I have done this in the past, the colors have always matched the sample I provided.No matter where it came from.

When I was using a brand name color, they would usually have it in their system.
I have also brought in a sample of color I have made myself, which they accurately reproduced,and they never have had a match for any manufactured paint with that method as of yet.
I just wonder if that company found a way around letting their formulas out?

Colors can be trademarked.

But I bet the local paint shop would mix it for you if they could figure it out. It may be that the more high end paints use better quality pigments.

Remember that colors fade. So a “Chamois” that was painted on a wall 4 years ago isn’t going to be the same as a fresh Chamois can of paint.

@elbanditoroso I think what you just said is exactly what happened to Lucille; the color was Ralph, the color is Velveeta.

@raum-I went to a local and national chain to have this done. They both used a scanner to get the formula.
It makes me wonder just how detailed a recipe for a color could be with these machines that it could pick up on and prevent duplication.Amazing,really.
I could mix a sample of the color myself and see how close it comes if I take it in to duplicate it.

Of course the whole reason I did this is because I just needed a pint, not a gallon, which is what I’d have to get.

I’m gonna guess that it’s an issue of pigment. Have you tried emailing the company directly to ask if you could special order a pint? Bet they would.

@elbanditoroso -True.
In this case,there is a big difference between colors,Chamois does look like one.Their duplicate versions really are cheezy.lol

By the way, the Sherwin Williams Chamois color is a little dark for my taste :-)
link

Ralph Lauren not much better link

@raum -That could be too. There are plenty of different versions of the basic colors on the color wheel.Perhaps they use pigments not commonly used in other commercial paints?
Now the lack of availability of this color makes me want it more.
I think I am in love. Lol!
Too late to get the pint at this point. The walls are Velveeta.!@#$

@elbanditoroso – I typed this in and got this: https://encycolorpedia.com/ddb382
Lol! Where was this when needed it?
Then again, it might not be exact.
How did I not see your second link?
Actually, the next color I put on will be a darker one. I love the richness of the deeper colors.
The chamois color was a “suede” paint.It really does have that look. The amount of effort to do it is significant compared to rolling so this Velveeta color is not a happy thing.

Not much of a contribution I know…(yeh, so what’s new right)

Turquoise is such a snob, the word anyway, forces you into pronouncing it like some bloody French fancy dancy man & just how do you say it anyway?

@ucme -With an “oy” as opposed to a “qwa”.
I was in an art class with a girl who had to let me know that she pronounced it with a “qwa”.
I told her she need to qwat talking to me.
It didn’t take.

Haha, should have asked her to repeat it several times quickly then told her she sounded like an upset crow.

@ucme -It is strange that I even remember her but she went out of her way to communicate to me just how special she was.
Maybe I should have agreed & she might have left me alone.She just wouldn’t quat!

Are you buying Ralph Lauren paint? The store sells his paint? Or, color matching with another brand.

Are you using leftover paint from the original paint can to color match?

The wall won’t be the same as the paint. Too many years have passed. That doesn’t sound like the problem though, it sounds like your saying the liquid paint isn’t matching the old liquid paint.

Do you have a local paint store with someone who has a really good eye for color? My FIL used to own a paint store and he could mix colors from his experience. A drop of red, a drop of black, etc etc.

You will have to paint the e fire wall, maybe not the entire room, no matter how exact the paint color is. If you are using a different paint brand or quality you will want to paint the entire room.

You can patent a pigment compound.
A blue compound of YInMn was discovered in 2009 (most recent earlier blue was cobalt blue in 1802) and here’s an article about Crayola licensing it.

@JLeslie -I originally painted the wall with RL Suede finish paint.The sample was taken from the paint in the can,which came up as the brand and color when they scanned it.
When I decided to touch up a few marks on the wall, I just wanted a small amount to do this so I thought I’d have it colormatched.
That is where the color “Velveeta” comes in. I touched the mars up with this cheese-paint, then had to repaint the entire room.lol I have to say though,with the suede finish, one can disguise a new color pretty easily if it was off by a little bit.-not a lot as this was.
The local hardware guy is not as talented as your FIL, unfortunately.
Here is the kicker: I work as an artist. I can mix this color! I simply didn’t want to bother doing it!
This brings me to another question…..if I mixed my version of this color, got it as close as possible,took it in to get color matched, would RL’s brand come up?How accurate are these machines? Can they tell the difference between a teeny tiny bit more red in one of the samples or any other amount of any color?

@dabbler -That is very interesting! Thanks for posting.

The machines can color match anything I think. A piece of fabric, or whatever.

Did they compare the colors in the store? Your old paint to the new paint?

They can mix the color half strength, and take a look, and then add a little more yellow, maybe less red than originally prescribed, maybe brown or black not quite to full strength, etc. Even if you need to bring it home, put a little on the wall, let it dry, and then you can still go back with the can and they’ll add the three more drops you want in there and shake it up. Then they have the new formula for you if you need it again. They track what they add.

@JLeslie -Yep, I have the formula for my husband’s eye color, or rather, a small section of his iris.
It is very cool what you can have done. In an instant, most of the time.
When I had it done the first time, the clerk asked me if it looked ok. Thinking back on this, she did not think it was a match, which makes me wonder how that company got around it.
The second time,I simply trusted that it would be done right.

Mixing colors is so interesting. The littlest bit can completely change a color. My maternal side of the family were artists, so I grew up learning about colors, I don’t remember if they teach it in school to kids? I seem to remember they do.

@JLeslie -It is fascinating!
I remember learning about the color wheel in elementary school but nothing detailed. High school was different & I had a very good teacher.She made it even more fun than it already was!
Lucky you to have many people in your family with that interest! My mom dabbled in drawing & painting.My dad,was a draftsman at one time.That definitely suited hs personality more than expressing himself through art.;)
I still use his drafting table to this day. It’s a nice oak table with a pencil sharpener on the side made by a caveman. Lol!

^^The talent skipped over me, but I know red and blue make purple. I find pink to be so odd. It’s not light red to me, it’s a completely different color. Appropriate it has its own name. Yet, light blue is still blue.

My dad is colorblind of all things, red green blind, so we had a lot of blue in the house. Lol. My parents both wear a lot of blue also. My husband noticed it when he started spending more time with them. When I was little my dad used to always compliment my blue clothing, then I realized it was a color he could see. I have blue eyes, so the blue looks good anyway.

@JLeslie -I think that way about pink too! lol
I think a huge amount of people love blue.I personally like it.
When I’ve done art fairs,blue pots go quickly. There is actually a glaze called “Kill It Before It Multiplies Blue”
Some potters got a bit tired of using blue.