Decisions · 86824279
In re Yarnell Ice Cream, LLC
Serial No. 86824279 · Decided 2019-07-09 · Other
What happened
The Board upheld the refusal to register SCOOP for ice cream and frozen confections promoted by a costumed mascot, finding SCOOP merely describes a typical ice cream serving/portion size, that the applicant’s mascot-appearance evidence did not prove the word had become distinctive of its ice cream, and that its specimens (a live mascot and mascot-branded delivery trucks) did not adequately show the word used to identify the ice cream itself rather than just the mascot’s name.
The marks
Applicant
SCOOP (standard characters)
"frozen confections and ice cream promoted and distributed by a mascot named SCOOP at product promotions and distributions of the frozen confections and ice cream," in International Class 30
Why this decision is significant
Precedential decision addressing three distinct, intertwined refusal grounds (descriptiveness/acquired distinctiveness, specimen sufficiency, and failure to function) in the novel context of a live costumed brand mascot, providing significant new guidance on whether a human being’s personal appearance can constitute a ‘display associated with the goods’ under Section 45.
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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