TTABlog Test: Is SEAFISH Merely Descriptive of Seafood?

The USPTO refused to register the proposed mark SEAFISH for, inter alia, "seafood products and fish-based food products, namely, processed seafood; frozen seafood; frozen fish," on the ground of mere descriptiveness under Section 2(e)(1). Applicant Triunfo Foods argued that SEAFISH is not merely descriptive but only suggestive because it is “not an actual word, but a new, fun play on words,” a "'whimsical' and 'unitary term that is an imaginative combination of 'sea' and 'fish, which together make up more than the sum of their separate parts.'" How do you think this appeal came out? In re Triunfo Foods Import & Export Corp., Serial No. 97898551 (April 1, 2026) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Angela Lykos).

Triunfo further argued that, while competitors in the seafood industry may need to use the words "sea" and "fish" to describe their products, “it is highly unlikely any of them would need to use SEAFISH in order to sell their products” because “[t]here are innumerable other terms and combinations thereof which a competitor could adopt to describe similar goods.” However, the evidence submitted by Examining Attorney Brett Golden "belie[d] applicant's arguments."

“Sea fish,” otherwise known as “saltwater fish,” is a well-recognized designation in the seafood industry and includes many species for human consumption such as bluefin tuna and Atlantic cod. Contrary to Applicant’s assertion, the term “sea fish” appears as an entry in multiple dictionaries to denote “any fish found in salt waters” or “a fish that lives in the sea, rather than in rivers or lakes. The fact that Applicant’s mark is presented as a single term as opposed to the two separate words “sea” and “fish” does not lessen its merely descriptive nature. *** This is especially so here since “seafish” is also an alternative form of spelling of “sea fish.”

Triunfo did not submit any evidence to support its claim that the term SEAFISH is "whimsical." The evidence shows that "SEAFISH in relation to Applicant’s goods is not unique but rather is part of ordinary U.S. lexicon."

Triunfo pointed to its prior application for the same mark and goods, as to which another examining attorney also issued a mere descriptiveness final refusal but subsequently withdrew the refusal while the application was on appeal at the Board. However, that application was abandoned for failure to timely file a statement of use. The Board noted that it is "not bound by a previous examining attorney’s decision."

In sum, Applicant’s proposed mark SEAFISH immediately conveys, without conjecture or speculation, the type of Applicant’s fish or a key attribute of Applicant’s processed fish and seafood products. The evidence further shows that consumers may specifically shop for “seafish” for nutritional value or other health reasons. Competitors in the seafood industry should be free to use this merely descriptive designation when describing their own fish items to the public in advertising and marketing materials

And so, the Board affirmed the refusal.

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TTABlogger comment: Is this a WYHA? Too bad for the applicant. It had the registration with reach, but watched it swim away

Text Copyright John L. Welch 2026.