TTAB Test: Is WARTSEAL Merely Descriptive of Wart Removing Preparations?

You betcha! The Board affirmed this Section 2(e)(1) refusal to register WARTSEAL, finding the term merely descriptive of "Wart removing preparations."Applicant contended that its product, a liquid or gel, does not "seal" the wart because it does not form an airtight closure over the wart. In re Medtech Products Inc., Serial No. 86836486 (July 24, 2017) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge David Mermelstein).

Examining Attorney Kevin G. Crennan provided evidence that applicant, on packaging for its own products in strip form and containing the same active ingredient as the liquid or gel, states that those products provide a waterproof seal. Third-party products also create seals and employ the same active ingredient (salicylic acid). (see example above), including gels.

Based on the evidence of record, we find that the word “seal” describes a feature of wart removing preparations, namely, a protective, waterproof seal created by either a bandage or other formulation of the goods, i.e., gel or liquid.

In the combination of WART and SEAL into the compound term WARTSEAL, each of the words retains its descriptive significance, and so the term WARTSEAL is merely descriptive of applicant's goods.

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Text Copyright John L. Welch 2017.