Decisions · 85597669
In re Beds & Bars Limited
Serial No. 85597669 · Decided 2017-05-05 · Other
What happened
Registration refused on the main register — the Board ruled that BELUSHI’S for bars, restaurants, hotels, hostels and travel services is primarily just a surname, because even though only five people in the U.S. are named Belushi, the fame of comedians John and Jim Belushi means the public instantly recognizes ‘Belushi’ as a last name; the applicant may instead get a weaker Supplemental Register registration.
The marks
Applicant
BELUSHI'S
Travel reservation, escorting of travellers, car parking, courier services, transportation arrangement, sightseeing and travel information (Class 39); and hotel, hostel, public houses, restaurant and catering services, temporary accommodation reservation, boarding houses, cocktail lounges and coffee bars (Class 43)
Why this decision is significant
Precedential Board decision that is a leading authority on the ‘rare surname made famous by media exposure’ branch of Section 2(e)(4), refining In re Gregory and drawing a clear line against the historical-name exception of In re Pyro-Spectaculars; broadly applicable to celebrity-surname applications.
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
Read the opinion and every filing on the Board's own docket. The summary above is our paraphrase, not a quotation from the opinion. The opinion is the authority.
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