Decisions · 86616382
In re University of Miami
Serial No. 86616382 · Decided 2017-06-06 · Other
What happened
The University of Miami won its appeal: the Board reversed both refusals and allowed its ibis mascot design mark (an ibis wearing a hat and sweater) to proceed toward registration in Classes 16, 25, and 41, finding that the mascot design creates a separate visual impression apart from the ‘U’ and ‘Miami’ wording on the specimens and that the application seeks registration of one mark--not multiple phantom marks.
The marks
Applicant
Design mark -- ibis wearing a hat and a sweater (university mascot 'Sebastian the Ibis'; color not claimed)
Paper products (stationery, note pads, bumper stickers, notebooks, etc.) in Class 16; Clothing (t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, footwear, etc.) in Class 25; Educational and entertainment services (college courses, intercollegiate sports, radio/TV programs, cultural events) in Class 41
Why this decision is significant
Precedential decision clarifying when a university mascot design may be registered apart from house-mark wording displayed on the mascot’s attire in specimens, and expressly holding that varying wording on a design in specimens does not create a phantom-mark application where the drawing and description contain no changeable elements.
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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