BOWENS for Guitars is Primarily Merely a Surname, Says TTAB

The Board affirmed a Section 2(e)(4) refusal to register the proposed mark BOWENS for guitar and audio equipment, finding the mark to be primarily merely a surname and therefore barred from registration (absent a showing of acquired distinctiveness). The Board observed that BOWENS is neither a rare surname nor a common one, but it is the surname of tens of thousands of individuals. There was "some evidence that this term has surname significance in some other established contexts," and no evidence of any other established meaning of BOWENS. In re The Hoist Group Inc., Serial No. 98444366 (December 22, 2025) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Mark A. Thurmon).

In determining whether the mark BOWENS is primarily merely a surname, the Board considered the following four Benthin factors:

1. Whether the surname is rare; 
2. Whether anyone connected with the applicant has that surname; 
3. Whether the term has any recognized meaning other than as a surname e.g., an “ordinary language” meaning; and, 
4. Whether the term has the structure and pronunciation of a surname.

As to the first factor, the LEXIS/NEXIS surname database included more than 23,000 individuals with the Bowens surname, located across the United States. Examining Attorney Komal Vo provided evidence from ancestry.com showing more than 72,000 persons with the Bowens surname.

Applicant argues BOWENS is not a common surname, as it accounts for a tiny fraction of the individuals in the United States. Both the Trademark Examining Attorney and the Applicant are correct here, as BOWENS is not a rare or common surname. It rests somewhere between these two points on the range of surnames in the United States. The standard, however, asks whether the BOWENS surname is rare. We find it is not rare, though it is not particularly common either. The first factor supports the refusal, but is not conclusive of the primary significance of the applied-for mark.

The second factor was neutral: there was no evidence that the surname BOWENS is connected to anyone associated with Applicant Hoist Group.

As to the third, Hoist argued that BOWENS has other meanings - for example, BOWENS ISLAND, near San Antonio, Texas. However, the evidence showed that the area was named after John Bowen and thus this evidence supported the Section 2(e)(4) refusal. The same was true of other examples provided by Hoist, including a disease named for a person who identified it. "None of the evidence Applicant submitted shows an established non-surname meaning of Bowens."

Examining Attorney Komal Vo also submitted evidence showing that BOWENS does not have a dictionary definition, as well as evidence from ancestry.com about the family history of the Bowens surname - it originated in Dutch as the name Bouwens and later became Bowens in Welsh-Irish and English. The Board concluded that the third factor supported the refusal.

The fourth factor presented "something of a conundrum, because we have no clear guidance on what structure or pronunciation is typical of a surname. Indeed, surnames can be found with many different structures and pronunciations, making it difficult to apply this factor in a consistent and meaningful way."

The Examining Attorney pointed to three other surnames—BOWEN, BOUWENS and BAUWENS—and argued that BOWENS is similar in structure and pronunciation. But there was "no evidence of what it is about these names that would lead consumers to understand them as surnames." "This evidence doesn’t tell us much about whether consumers will understand BOWENS as primarily merely a surname."

Applicant Hoist referred to several registrations for Bowen-variant marks that were registered without a showing of acquired distinctiveness, but it also submitted evidence of Bowen-variant marks that were registered with a showing of acquired distinctiveness. This evidence "do[es]not help us determine whether BOWENS has the structure and pronunciation of a surname." Finding the evidence "equivocal as to the import of the structure and pronunciation of BOWENS," the Board deemed this factor neutral.

In conclusion, the Board affirmed the refusal.

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TTABlogger comment: BOWENS certainly seems to have to structure and pronunciation of BOWEN.

Text Copyright John L. Welch 2025.