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WYHA or not WYHA? "CHROMALOY" Merely Descriptive of Surgical Implants, Says TTAB

What do you think? Does this one fall below the WYHA line? The TTAB affirmed a Section 2(e)(1) refusal to register the mark CHROMALOY, finding it merely descriptive of "surgical implants comprising artificial material." The Board concluded that consumers would recognize the term as the equivalent of "chrome alloy," which describes "a feature or characteristic of such surgical implants." In re Warsaw Orthopedic, Inc., Serial No. 77277657 (August 21, 2009) [not precedential].Examining Attorney Dominick J. Salemi relied on dictionary definitions of "chrome" and "alloy" and on LEXIS/NEXIS excerpts in asserting that CHROMALOY describes "an important feature of applicant's surgical implants, namely that they are composed of two or more metallic elements, the prominent one being chromium...continue to full post

Full post as published by The TTABlog on September 03, 2009 (boomark / email).