As many of you know from my “Ridiculous Trademark Opposition of the Week” postings, I am in the habit of browsing through the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) records on a weekly basis in order to track what companies are filing challenges to trademark applications and registrations owned by others and on what basis [...]
Is “HOTELS.COM” Really Generic?
In In Re Hotels.com, L.P., the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s decision that HOTELS.COM is generic for online hotel booking services and, therefore, not entitled to any trademark protection whatsoever. As many of you probably know, generic terms are not trademarks and are not entitled to [...]
Is Statue of “Big Boy” a Trademark Infringement?
Here is an interesting article regarding use of a trademark as part of a public monument: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/10/06/offbeat1.html?sid=101 To see an example of the Big Boy trademark the article refers to, please click here. Yeah, it’s the fat kid with checkered pants. Clearly, if the Shoney’s restaurant was using the Big Boy image as a trademark [...]
