TTABlog Test: How Did These Three Appeals from Section 2(e)(1) Mere Descriptiveness Refusals Turn Out?

By my count, the TTAB has affirmed 18 of the 19 appeals from Section 2(e)(1) mere descriptiveness (or disclaimer) refusals. How do you think these latest three appeals came out? Results will be found in the first comment.

In re Mingis Capital Partners, LLC, Serial No. 88700244 (March 31, 2023) [not precedential] (Opinion by Elizabeth A. Dunn). [Mere descriptiveness refusal of CRM PROS (Stylized) for "Business management consulting in the field of managing business processes." Applicant argued that the relevant consumers will not perceive CRM as the acronym for “"customer relationship management" because the term has not been recognized by the Oxford English Dictionary, and because CRM has alternate meanings as the acronym for “cardiac rhythm management,” “certified reference material,” and “certified records manager.”]

In re Theragnostics Limited, Serial No. 88796139 (March 31, 2023) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Thomas W. Wellington) [Mere descriptiveness refusal of NEPHROSCAN for "radiopharmaceuticals, namely, kidney imaging agents for medical diagnosis, monitoring and assessment." The Board found that "nephro" is a recognized prefix meaning “having to do with the kidney.” Applicant acknowledged that its goods are "ultimately injected into the body of a patient … to enhance the ability to image the renal cortices of the kidney of the patient using gamma scintigraphy or single photon emission computed tomography," but "the ultimate purpose of that procedure is to take or otherwise produce a scan of the kidneys is so attenuated or otherwise removed from the imaging agent that the use of the ‘purpose’ standard is inappropriate in determining whether or not Applicant’s Mark is descriptive."]

In re Agadia Systems Inc., Serial No. 88943465 (April 6, 2023) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Karen Kuhlke). [Mere descriptiveness refusal of FORMULARYHUB for the services of "customizing computer hardware." The Examining Attorney submitted dictionary definitions of "formulary," including "a collection of formulas for the compounding of medicinal preparations…” Applicant contended that in the context of computers "[a] hub is the least intelligent of the tree hardware devices. It serves as a connection point for the computers (and other divides such as printers) in a network … They are passive devices, they don’t have any software associated with it" Applicant maintained that FORMULARYHUB "means a physical piece of computer hardware (a connection point) named drug list."]

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Text Copyright John L. Welch 2023.