Decisions · 85092079
In re Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
Serial No. 85092079 · Decided 2014-09-26 · Other
What happened
Refusal upheld — Philips could not prove that the shape of its Sonicare toothbrush-head base assembly had come to identify Philips as the product’s source in buyers' minds, so the product-design mark was denied registration.
The marks
Applicant
Base assembly design of electric toothbrush brushhead (product configuration)
Toothbrush head for electric toothbrushes (Class 21)
Why this decision is significant
Precedential opinion supplying the Board’s comprehensive framework for weighing Section 2(f) acquired-distinctiveness evidence for product-design marks — explaining why large sales figures, a cancelled prior registration, and ‘look for’ -free advertising fail to prove that a product shape functions as a mark; cited by two decisions in this database. Re-proposed with justification per the 2026-07-04 deferral.
Research significance is Trademark Valet's editorial rating of how useful a decision is to practitioners. It is not a statement of precedential weight — that is the separate Precedential field, which comes from the Board.
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The original record
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