On My Mind Blog

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Court) reversed a decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), which had affirmed a ruling by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).  Unlike the lower tribunals, the Court held that SPECTACLES is not generic for “smart glasses,” although the Court held that this term is “highly descriptive” of these goods.

In a detailed 60-page opinion, the Court explained the differences between generic names and descriptive trademarks.  The Court concluded that the evidence in this case, particularly the traditional Teflon survey evidence, failed to support the genericism determinations reached by the TTAB and the PTO.