WYHA? TTAB Affirms 2(e)(1) Mere Descriptiveness Refusal of "SENSOR DOME" for Kitchen Cooktops

Would you have appealed from this Section 2(e)(1) refusal? Examining Attorney David S. Miller deemed the mark SENSOR DOME merely descriptive of household and kitchen machines and equipment, including ovens, ranges, and cooktops. The Board affirmed in a brisk, 7-page opinion that relied largely on Applicant's own admissions during prosecution. In re BSH Home Appliances Corporation, Serial No. 77298376 (June 15, 2009) [not precedential].


Examining Attorney Miller cited dictionary definitions of "sensor" and "dome" and third-party websites showing that "ovens, ranges and cooktops typically, if not always, have one or more temperature sensors and that such sensors may take a variety of shapes, including a domelike shape."

If that weren't enough, Applicant BSH provided further ammunition when it responded to the PTO's Rule 2.61(b) inquiry regarding the nature of the goods, stating that the goods "may incorporate a sensor," "may be domelike in shape," and "may include a sensor or a related part that is domelike in shape," and that "neither the term SENSOR nor the term DOME have any other meaning or significance as applied to Applicant's identified goods."

And if that weren't enough, BSH's advertising stated that its new electric cooktops feature "infrared sensor technology" and a "retractable dome that continuously measures the heat from the cookware."

The Board found that this evidence clearly established that SENSOR and DOME are merely descriptive of the goods. Moreover, the composite SENSOR DOME "does not result in an incongruous, clever or otherwise inherently distinctive composite."

The mark as a whole immediately informs purchasers that applicant's ovens, ranges, and cooktops feature and use a dome-shaped temperature sensor.

And so the Board affirmed the refusal.

TTABlog comment: Well, the appeal fee is only $100.00.

Text Copyright John L. Welch 2009.