In re Bed & Breakfast Registry
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
791 F.2d 157 (1986)
- Written by Jenny Perry, JD
Facts
The United States Patent and Trademark Office refused an application submitted by the Bed & Breakfast Registry (B&B) (applicant) to register the service mark “Bed & Breakfast Registry” for making lodging reservations in private homes. The examining attorney conducted a Nexis search that produced two newspaper articles reporting on a bed-and-breakfast registry offered in Maryland by another provider whose founders stated that their business was inspired by an article about other such registries in California and New England. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (board) affirmed the refusal to register, in part, under § 2(e) of the Lanham Act (act) because the mark, as applied to B&B’s services, was merely descriptive of those services. B&B appealed, claiming that the mark was not merely descriptive because it did not refer to the reservations service that B&B provided.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Newman, J.)
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