Decisions · 87213400
In re Dimarzio, Inc.
Serial No. 87213400 · Decided 2021-12-03 · Other
What happened
The Board upheld the refusal to register the color cream, applied to the entire surface of an electronic guitar pickup, because the applicant failed to prove that consumers have come to see that color as identifying its products specifically, especially given that many other manufacturers also sell cream-colored guitar pickups.
The marks
Applicant
the color cream (single-color mark; description: "the distinctive color cream applied to the entire surface of the goods, which are a three-dimensional configuration of an electronic sound pickup for guitars featuring a double coil design. The broken lines depicting the overall shapes of the pickup, indicating placement of the mark on the goods and are not part of the mark.")
"electronic sound pickup[s] for guitars," in International Class 9
Why this decision is significant
Precedential TTAB decision applying the Converse six-factor secondary-meaning test in depth to a single-color product mark, with detailed treatment of non-probative configuration-related declarations/enforcement evidence, shade-comparison analysis, and the brief page-limit/double-spacing objection; frequently useful for future color-mark and acquired-distinctiveness analysis.
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.
Related decisions
In re National Concessions Group, Inc.
The Board refused BAKKED for an ‘essential oil dispenser’ because the product is actually a cannabis dabbing tool — federal drug-paraphernalia law makes it unlawful in commerce, and…
87168058 · 2023-05-03 · BAKKED (standard characters)
In re National Concessions Group, Inc.
The Board refused the teardrop logo used on the same cannabis dabbing tool as the BAKKED word mark: because the product is federal drug paraphernalia, no federal trademark registration is…
87183434 · 2023-05-03 · Stylized drop design mark -- "The mark consists of two parallel curved lines forming a teardrop, being wrapped around a smaller solid teardrop." Color is not claimed as a feature of the mark.
In re Erik Brunetti
The Board affirmed the refusal to register FUCK (standard characters) for cell phone and laptop carrying cases, eyewear cases, spectacles and sunglasses, finding the word is such a…
88308426 · 2022-08-22 · FUCK (standard characters)
In re Erik Brunetti
The Board affirmed the refusal to register FUCK (standard characters) for jewelry, earrings, rings, bracelets, lapel pins, watches and watch accessories, finding that widespread third-party…
88308434 · 2022-08-22 · FUCK (standard characters)
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.
Who checked this
Not yet reviewed by an attorney. This summary is generated from coded data, and it says so until a lawyer has read it.
Provenance — Generated from database rows without re-reading the opinion.
General information about how trademark law works. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not make anyone your lawyer.