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Oct 29, 2019

How to Overcome the Genericness Hurdle at the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

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The Following Article is reprinted, with permission, from INTA Bulletin, Vol. 74, No.8 From 2013 through 2017, the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) issued 10 opinions in which it ruled on claims whose marks were generic for their goods or services. Of these opinions, nine resulted in a finding that the mark was unregistrable. A closer look at those opinions reveals what owners and practitioners should know when faced with the chance to argue genericness before the TTAB. Under U.S. trademark law, a mark is generic if its primary significance to the relevant public is the goods or… Read more