Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Intellectual Property Law Blogs -> The TTABlog

Intellectual Property Law

: The TTABlog

Precedential No. 6: TTAB Affirms Section 2(e)(5) Functionality Refusal of Shape of Metal Spray Nozzle

Another product configuration "mark" bit the TTAB dust when the Board affirmed the PTO's refusal to register the purported mark shown below (consisting of a "round disk head on a sprayer nozzle") for "metal spray nozzles." The Board found the design to be functional under Section 2(e)(5), and alternatively found that it fails to function as a mark, under Sections 1, 2, and 45. In re UDOR U.S.A., Inc., Serial No. 78867933 (March 4, 2009) [precedential].Functionality: As usual, the Board applied the CCPA's four-factor analysis set forth in In re Morton-Norwich Prods., Inc., 213 USPQ 9, 15-16 (CCPA 1982), which requires the Board to consider (1) whether a utility patent discloses the utilitarian advantages of the design; (2) whether advertising materials tout the design's utilitarian advantages; (3) the availability of functionally-equivalent alternatives; and (4) whether the design results from a comparatively simple or cheap method of manufacture...continue to full post

Full post as published by The TTABlog on March 10, 2009 (boomark / email).