That sweet John Welch at TTABlog displays his great sense of taste with a delicious discussion of the refusal to register orange flavor as a trademark for a medication, a decision that will no doubt leave the applicant sour, and about which drug manufacturers will probably feel bittersweet.
I’m not aware of a registration covering taste in the U.S. If you’re aware of one outside the U.S., please email us. This decision reportedly states that a trademarked taste is conceivable upon a strong showing of acquired distinctiveness, but points out the logistical problems in a trademark office examining a taste.
To which I would add: the problem a proving that one taste is confusingly similar to another.