New York Trademark Attorney Blog
A recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals from the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) reminds trademark owners that adopting marks that are merely descriptive may require a high level of proof to register on the Principal Register. See In re JC Hospitality LLC, Appeal Nos, 2018-2048 and 2018-2049 (Fed. Cir. February 28, 2020) [nonprecedential], where the CAFC agreed with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (the “Board”) decision finding the mark THE JOINT (in standard character format) merely descriptive of “restaurant, bar, and catering services” and “entertainment services, namely live musical performances, shows and concerts, and nightclub services.” The CAFC determined that substantial evidence supported the Board’s conclusions, on the grounds of merely descriptiveness and not acquiring distinctiveness, but did not address the Board’s finding of genericness.
The Board relied on several dictionary definitions and news articles, and determined that the mark immediately conveys the concept of a business establishment offering restaurant, bar, and entertainment services. The applicant raised the argument that the mark should register since it is a double entendre. Applicant insisted that THE JOINT was a reference to prison. However, there wasn’t enough evidence to show a relationship between a prison and bar and restaurant services.
The amount of evidence required to prove acquired distinctiveness (secondary meaning) is directly correlated with the degree of descriptiveness. To determine how much evidence is required for showing acquired distinctiveness, the Court or Board must assess the degree of descriptiveness in relationship to the goods or services. Here, the Board held THE JOINT in relationship to the services (bar and restaurant services) was highly descriptive. See our web page entitled, What Is Acquired Distinctiveness & Secondary Meaning, for general information on this topic. Many factors will be considered when evaluating if secondary meaning exists. Some of these factors include: (1) the market share held by the applicant; (2) consumer surveys or studies; (3) the length, degree and exclusivity of use; (4) the amount of applicant’s sales compared to competitors’ sales in the same industry; (5) the amount the applicant spent on advertising compared to its competitors’ advertising expenditures in the same industry; (6) intentional copying; and (7) unsolicited media coverage and the extent the press information was circulated to the general public.