U.S. Supreme Court Takes Up the Issue of Generic Trademark Registrations: USPTO v. Booking.com - PART I
United States Patent & Trademark Office v. Booking.com B. V., 20 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 6243 (U.S. June 30, 2020) Topic: Trademark Registration, Generic Names, Compound Terms Takeaways: A generic name is ineligible for federal trademark registration. If a compound name that is a generic composite is not perceived as generic to consumers, it is not generic in terms of a Trademark filing. Supreme Court finds against the PTO's request for a "nearly per-se" rule that when a generic term is combined with an internet-domain suffix (like ".com"), the resulting combination is generic. Held: A term styled “generic.com” is a generic name for a class of goods or services only if the term has that meaning to consumers. Check back next week for Part II on the Concurring and Dissenting Opinions. Opinion Justice GINSBURG delivered the opinion of the Court. This case concerns eligibility for federal trademark registration. Respondent Booking.com, an enter...