Research library · Decisions
The decision library
178 Board decisions, each coded to a fixed schema and rewritten so a non-lawyer can follow it. The outcome is on every card, so you can rule one out without opening it. Every record also says whether its own Board docket has been checked for a later reversal or vacatur — 25 have not been, and they say so. A docket check does not show whether later cases changed the law.
All 28 industries
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49–72 of 178 decisions · newest first · page 3 of 8
Refusal reversed
In re Jonathan Sibony
The Board found REPUBLIC OF LONDON for clothing is not primarily geographically deceptively misdescriptive, because the phrase names a place that does not exist: ‘Republic of London’ as a…
86293054 · 2021-10-14 · REPUBLIC OF LONDON (standard characters)
Cancellation ended without deciding the merits
Jim Beam Brands Co. v. JL Beverage Company LLC
Jim Beam withdrew its petition to cancel JL Beverage’s lips-design registration for distilled spirits after trial began, and the Board held the withdrawal is without prejudice because JL…
Cancellation No. 92054843 · 2021-08-20 · JL Lips Mark (design mark consisting of human lips or mouths; color not claimed), Registration No. 4044182 v. Beam Lips Mark (design mark, color not claimed), Registration No. 2638476
In re The Consumer Protection Firm PLLC
The Board found the wording in this law firm’s colorful square logo, THE CONSUMER PROTECTION FIRM.COM, was simply the common name for consumer-protection legal services rather than a brand…
87444846 · 2021-03-02 · THE CONSUMER PROTECTION FIRM.COM & Design ("Applicant's Proposed Word-and-Design Mark") -- a square outlined in navy blue containing the words "THE CONSUMER PROTECTION FIRM.COM" vertically stacked; "THE" in green above "CONSUMER" in navy blue above "PROTECTION" in red above "FIRM.COM," with "FIRM" in green and "COM" in yellow separated by a yellow period; colors green, navy blue, red, and yellow claimed; "Firm.com" disclaimed
In re The Consumer Protection Firm PLLC
The Board found that ordinary legal-services consumers understand the phrase THE CONSUMER PROTECTION FIRM to be the common name for a category of legal practice (consumer-protection law)…
87445801 · 2021-03-02 · THE CONSUMER PROTECTION FIRM (standard characters; "Applicant's Proposed Word Mark"); "Firm" disclaimed
In re Lee Greenwood
The Board affirmed refusal of GOD BLESS THE USA as a trademark for pillows and decorative wood/wall items because dozens of unrelated sellers already use the same patriotic phrase on…
87168719 · 2020-12-01 · GOD BLESS THE USA
Refusal reversed
In re Recreational Equipment, Inc.
The Board allowed REI to move forward with registering CO-OP for bicycles and bicycle parts, holding that proving CO-OP merely describes REI’s status as a cooperative business was not…
87186780 · 2020-11-20 · CO-OP
In re Vox Populi Registry Ltd.
The Board upheld the refusal to register the plain word mark .SUCKS for domain registry and domain-name-registration services, finding that consumers see .SUCKS as just another web-address…
86700941 · 2020-10-29 · .SUCKS (standard characters)
Registration refused
In re Mayweather Promotions, LLC
PAST PRESENT FUTURE fails to function as a trademark for T-shirts because it is a widely used commonplace message. Evidence showed extensive third-party use of the phrase on apparel by…
86753084 · 2020-10-29 · PAST PRESENT FUTURE
In re Vox Populi Registry Ltd.
The Board also upheld the refusal to register .SUCKS shown in a retro, pixelated ‘LED display’ style font for domain registry services, finding the special lettering was too ordinary…
87187215 · 2020-10-29 · .SUCKS displayed in a stylized "font suggesting an LED display" (retro pixelated font resembling early CRT computer-screen lettering)
In re James S. Fallon
The Board upheld two of the refusals against registering THERMAL MATRIX for a heat-moldable liner in an anti-snoring mouthpiece: the product packaging did not clearly show the mark…
86882668 · 2020-10-21 · THERMAL MATRIX (THERMAL disclaimed)
Refusal affirmed
In re AC Webconnecting Holding B.V.
The Board held that .CAM (in plain text) cannot be registered even on the Supplemental Register for webcam-related business, telecommunication and entertainment services, because consumers…
85635277 · 2020-09-15 · .CAM (standard characters)
Refusal affirmed
In re AC Webconnecting Holding B.V.
The Board held the stylized .CAM logo (green dot plus black CAM) is also unregistrable on the Supplemental Register for the same webcam-related services, because its minimal styling does…
85635287 · 2020-09-15 · .CAM design mark (the mark consists of a green period/decimal point preceding the word "CAM" in the color black; colors green and black claimed as a feature of the mark; slightly stylized script)
In re Guaranteed Rate, Inc.
The Board refused to register GUARANTEED RATE in plain words for mortgage lending services: the phrase merely describes a mortgage feature (a rate that is guaranteed), and the company’s…
Application Serial No. 87054820 · 2020-07-30 · GUARANTEED RATE (in standard characters), under the provisions of Section 2(f) of the Trademark Act based on a claim of acquired distinctiveness
In re Guaranteed Rate, Inc.
The Board refused the GUARANTEED RATE logo (grey and white words on a red downward arrow) unless the company gives up exclusive rights to the words ‘Guaranteed Rate’ — if it files that…
Application Serial No. 87054849 · 2020-07-30 · GUARANTEED RATE and design - the word "GUARANTEED" in grey and "RATE" in white, where the word "RATE" appears on a red arrow pointing down; the colors grey, red and white claimed as a feature of the mark; acquired distinctiveness claimed under Section 2(f) as to the term "Guaranteed Rate"
In re MK Diamond Products, Inc.
The Board upheld refusal to register the curved-cut-out shape on the edge of MK Diamond’s circular saw blades as a trademark, finding the curve serves a practical, functional purpose…
86813875 · 2020-07-27 · Product configuration mark consisting of a circular saw blade comprising the curved portion of a repeating slot design around the circumference of the goods (portions shown in broken lines are not part of the mark)
Refusal upheld
In re Guild Mortgage Company
GUILD MORTGAGE COMPANY was found too similar to the registered GUILD INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT for related financial services, and more than forty years of side-by-side use without proven…
86709944 · 2020-03-31 · GUILD MORTGAGE COMPANY and design (three lines above IL) v. GUILD INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
In re Carlton Cellars, LLC
The Board refused registration of SEVEN DEVILS for wine and wine accessories because the applicant listed goods spanning four different filing categories but paid for only one and never…
87438793 · 2020-03-11 · SEVEN DEVILS
In re The Ride, LLC
The Board upheld the refusal to register a moving image of a tap-dancing ‘banker’ street performer as a mark for sightseeing bus tour services, finding the routine was just one of several…
86845550 · 2020-02-03 · Motion mark: two sequential freeze-frames depicting an entertainer dressed as a banker (suit and briefcase) walking along a street, viewed through bus windows, who then performs a tap dance routine when the bus stops at a predetermined location on a guided sightseeing bus tour; color not claimed
Mixed result
In re James Haden, M.D., P.A.
The Board found the words ALLERGY CARE generic for allergy-treatment medical services, but because the mark is a stylized logo the applicant may keep its Supplemental Register application…
87169404 · 2019-12-04 · Design mark consisting of a red, horizontal oval with a white and blue border; inside the oval in stacked formation are the words "ALLERGY CARE" in stylized capital letters in white with blue outline; colors red, blue and white claimed as features of the mark (text extraction shows a gap where the mark image is embedded in the original, e.g. "seeks registration ... of the mark for" and "Applicant's mark is")
In re Rainier Enterprises, LLC
The Board dismissed the appeal and let the vodka applicant’s application go abandoned because the applicant never fixed a required drawing and color-claim problem with its MONTE CARLO…
87384516 · 2019-12-03 · MONTE CARLO and design (words "MONTE CARLO" in red with six small red and two white diamonds at the top right of "O" in "CARLO"; words "WORLD'S MOST PRESTIGIOUS VODKA" in black below "MONTE CARLO"; all words outlined in gold; colors red, black, and gold claimed)
In re Ocean Technology, Inc.
The Board refused a crab-picture label reading ALL NATURAL 100% REAL CALLINECTES CRAB GOURMET CRABMEAT PASTEURIZED for crabmeat: the words and even the realistic crab picture just tell…
87405211 · 2019-11-21 · ALL NATURAL 100% REAL CALLINECTES CRAB GOURMET CRABMEAT PASTEURIZED and design -- stylized wording "ALL NATURAL" above a crab design, "Gourmet" in stylized italicized font over the crab's right claw, "CRABMEAT" in stylized uppercase font inside a shaded banner beneath the crab, and "PASTEURIZED" along the bottom; to the right of the crab design a small label consisting of a stylized circular design and the wording "100% REAL Callinectes CRAB"; "CRAB" and "CRABMEAT" disclaimed; color not claimed
In re Ocean Technology, Inc.
The Board also refused the companion crabmeat label that adds FROM NORTH AMERICA: like its sibling, the label’s words and realistic crab picture are purely informational and do not work as…
87405233 · 2019-11-21 · ALL NATURAL 100% REAL CALLINECTES CRAB FROM NORTH AMERICA GOURMET CRABMEAT PASTEURIZED and design -- stylized wording "ALL NATURAL" above a crab design, "Gourmet" in stylized italicized font over the crab's right claw, "CRABMEAT" in stylized uppercase font inside a shaded banner beneath the crab, and "PASTEURIZED" along the bottom; to the right of the crab design a small label consisting of a stylized circular design and the wording "100% REAL Callinectes CRAB," under which appears separately "from NORTH AMERICA"; "CRAB" and "CRABMEAT" disclaimed; color not claimed
In re Country Oven, Inc.
The Board affirmed refusal of the identical mark COUNTRY OVEN for retail and custom bakery services because a different company already owns a decades-old registration for COUNTRY OVEN…
87354443 · 2019-11-18 · COUNTRY OVEN v. COUNTRY OVEN
In re Odd Sox LLC
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board refused registration of Odd Sox LLC’s trade dress — the shape of its sock packaging (an elongated rectangular card with a single pair of socks hanging…
86297488 · 2019-09-30 · Three-dimensional product packaging trade dress -- elongated rectangular hanger displaying a single pair of socks side-by-side with toes flattened forward
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