Our Insights

Brexit Changes European Trademark Registration Strategies

With the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union becoming official on January 31, 2020, trademark owners should evaluate their trademark registration strategies to ensure their marks remain protected throughout Europe. While the U.K. was a member of the E.U., trademark owners were able to protect their marks in the U.K. and all other E.U. member states with a single, European-Union trademark registration. The U.K.’s withdrawal will not bring any immediate changes to the trademark registration process, as E.U. trademark registrations will continue to be valid in the U.K. until the end of the transition period on December 31, 2020.

Supreme Court to Hear “Not-So-Generic” Case Regarding Generic Trademarks

UPDATE: In an 8-1 decision, the Court found in favor of Booking.com and held that its trademark was entitled to registration (Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com B. V.). The Court reasoned that since one entity can own an Internet domain name at the same time that a domain name can serve a source-indicating function to the general public. The Court rejected the USPTO’s categorical rule against registration of a generic word following by a “.com” or other top-level domain name. Writing for the majority, Justice Ginsburg explained that the controlling test “depends on whether consumers in fact perceive that term as the name of a class or, instead, as a term capable of distinguishing among members of the class.”

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that could have profound implications for owners of generic marks.  In United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com B.V., the U.S. Supreme Court will decide if adding the term “.com” to a generic word creates a protectable trademark for an online business.  This case arose when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) refused registration of “Booking.com” as a trademark for an online travel website.  The USPTO determined that the word “Booking” was generic for hotel reservation services.  Adding the top-level domain “.com” to the generic word, the USPTO reasoned, did not create a distinctive mark because top-level domains do not ordinarily serve a source-indicating function.