Later cases on section 3(2) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 (the Act) have added to the statute added requirements to clarify the Act and make shapes theoretically easier to register or not. 

The decision on dishwasher tablets considered 3D marks from the point of view of distinctiveness (s3(1)(b) of the Act) and in particular remarking that the more closely the shape for which registration was sought resembled the shape most likely to be taken by the product in question, the greater the likelihood that the shape was devoid of distinctive character.

A case on Maglite torches followed this approach, stating that only a mark which departs significantly from the norm or customs of the sector and thereby fulfils its essential function of indicating origin, is not devoid of distinctive character.

Trademarkroom