In 2024, How Often Did the TTAB Affirm Section 2(e)(1) Mere Descriptiveness/Disclaimer Refusals?

By my count, in 2024 the Board issued final decisions in 66 appeals from Section 2(e)(1) mere descriptiveness refusals or from disclaimer requirements based on mere descriptiveness. The Board affirmed 58 of the refusals and reversed eight. That's an affirmance rate of about 87.9%.

Three of the opinions were deemed precedential. The Board upheld a refusal of ZPILE for metal sheet piles [TTABlogged here]. It reversed a requirement for disclaimer of the word ARCHITECT in the mark KORN FERRY ARCHITECT for human resources software and services [TTABlogged here]. And the Board affirmed a refusal of an illustration of a block puzzle game (shown below) for computer game software. [TTABlogged here]

Set out below is a bar chart showing the recent history of Section 2(e)(1) mere descriptiveness appeals. They continue to hover around 90%. Why so many failures? I suspect some or many of these doomed applications are driven by marketing types looking for an edge.

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Text Copyright John L. Welch 2025.