Showing posts with label Supplemental Register. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Supplemental Register. Show all posts

Thursday, November 14, 2013

The Selfie Trademark: Struggling to Own the New Slang

In the modern world of interactive social media, new words are invented, used and discarded at lightning speed.

Indeed, the lexicon of online social media is replete with an entirely new vocabulary composed of Internet "slang."  There are thousands of examples percolating on the Internet, with dictionaries and even online translators devoted to these emerging linguistic trends.

Some examples of words that started as Internet slang and which are now mainstream are: "cookies" (a small piece of data embedded in an Internet browser), "photoshopped" (referring to the popular software graphics program that allows for visual 'touching up' of digital photographs) and "spam," (those annoying bulk e-mail messages that clog up our inboxes).

But some entrepreneurs are hoping that such slang terms are capable of functioning as trademarks. For example, the word "selfie" means a photograph taken of oneself (usually with a smartphone) that is planned to be uploaded to Facebook, Instagram, Imgur or another social media networking website.

But several brand owners are trying to monopolize this term, even before it fully enters the mainstream lexicon.  

Thinkboks LLC, an Illinois based software development company, has filed a formal trademark application for "SELFIE" in connection with "computer application software for allowing hands free photographs on portable electronic devices."  Thinkboks claims that it first used the term in commerce in 2012.

Screenshot of Thinkboks.com
The Trademark Office was not persuaded and recently denied the application on the basis that “SELFIE” is defined as “a slang term used to describe a photo that is taken of oneself for the purpose of uploading it to social networking sites  and image sharing websites, such as Facebook, Instagram or Imgur”.

To illustrate his point, the Examiner attached screenshots of websites (italicized emphasis added) in which the term was used by third parties descriptively:  “With our face detection and timer modes, you will love taking selfies at home or on the go!” and "It’s simple and easy and it helps with taking selfies! . . .”


The Examiner found that as shown by the Internet evidence, the wording “SELFIE” and/or its inflected forms is used to describe a feature, subject matter, use, and/or the nature of selfie software, i.e., software for taking pictures of oneself.   

Material obtained from the Internet is generally accepted as competent evidence to determine if a mark is being used widely as a descriptive term.  Accordingly, Thinkboks' trademark application was rejected on grounds of descriptiveness under Trademark Act Section 2(e)(1).

In addition to or in the alternative to submitting evidence and arguments in support of registration, Thinkboks can amend the application to seek registration on the Supplemental Register.

However, that approach means that Thinkboks would need to wait as long as five years to renew its attempt to receive a trademark registration, and would need to swear under oath that, during the interim five years, it alone made "substantially exclusive use" of that mark in commerce.

Therefore, if Thinkboks cannot successfully monopolize usage using legal means, it can only succeed by convincing the marketplace generally that "SELFIE" is associated exclusively with it.  And that's likely an uphill endeavor.

In the meantime, others are trying a similar strategy.

Selfie Social, a New Jersey-based company, is seeking to register the trademark for "Selfie Social" in connection with computer applications used for the collection of photographs.  The Examiner rejected this application on the same "descriptiveness" grounds.

Further, an unidentified person or company currently cloaked with privacy protection services has apparently registered the domain name "SELFIE.COM" and is accepting requests for new screen names.

If this isn't Thinkboks' domain name, they may face an even steeper uphill climb than they bargained for.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Is "CHIPOTLE" a Valid Trademark?

Chipotle chilis - meco variety
The word "chipotle" comes from the Nahuatl word chilpoctli meaning "smoked chili pepper," and is a smoke-dried jalapeƱo pepper.  It is a flavorful chili pepper used primarily in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Mexican-American and Tex-Mex.  The word has widely been used generically to describe this type of flavor.


Enter Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., a chain of restaurants located in the United States, UK and Canada, specializing in delicious burritos and tacos, and known for its fresh, natural ingredients and “assembly-line” production method. 


Despite its enormous success and popularity (as long lines of customers can attest), the company continues to face an uphill battle in legally capturing the word “CHIPOTLE” as a trademark. When the restaurant chain applied for the word trademark in 2003, the US Trademark Examiner initially refused to register it, finding that it was "highly descriptive of the goods and/or services."  


However, the Examiner went on to invite the company to offer specific evidence of distinctiveness, including dollar sales under the mark, advertising figures, samples of advertising, consumer or dealer statements of recognition of the mark, and any other evidence that establishes the distinctiveness of the mark as an indicator of source.  The Examiner reminded the company that "the [Trademark] Office will decide each case on its own merits."


Subsequently in June 2008, the CHIPOTLE trademark application became a registration on the Supplemental Trademark Register.  The Supplemental Register is a purgatory for descriptive or otherwise problematic marks which may (or may not) mature to the Principal Register.A quick search on Google demonstrates that CHIPOTLE has clearly become associated with the Plaintiff's restaurants.  


But can the CHIPOTLE word ever qualify to become a legally protectable trademark in its own right?  It may depend on whether CHIPOTLE is deemed "generic" or "descriptive" by a court.  The distinction is subtle, but meaningful.  A generic mark can NEVER become a trademark.  Examples of generic words are CHICKEN, RESTAURANT and GRILL. However, a mark that is descriptive CAN become a trademark, if sufficient "distinctiveness is acquired" by a single company.  Here, generic/descriptive use by unauthorized third parties create a chicken-and-egg problem for the restaurant chain, which is stuck with creating "distinctiveness in the making."  


Can such a brand owner who is still trying to establish trademark rights meaningfully assert a viable legal claim?  For example, Subway sandwich shops offer a product called CHIPOTLE CHICKEN. This usage does not appear to be licensed, and has apparently not drawn a lawsuit (yet). However, when the Kroger Company launched a product called CHIPOTLE CHICKEN in supermarkets, it was summarily sued and chose to settle.  Such outcomes can help a Plaintiff demonstrate good faith efforts to police the marketplace, but they do not in and of themselves resolve the ultimate linguistic -- and legal -- matter.  If larger and more visible third parties (such as Subway) continue to use the word in a generic or descriptive (i.e., non-trademark) manner, CHIPOTLE may be confined to those marks that never escape their perpetual sentence in trademark purgatory.  Only time will tell.