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Extreme Rareness of "RENATI" as Surname Leads to 2(e)(4) Reversal

Acknowledging that the Board's treatment of surname refusals has been "inconsistent with regard to the number of surname listings," the Board found RENATI to be an "extremely rare surname" and it reversed a Section 2(e)(4) refusal to register the mark for goods and services in classes 3, 25, 43, and 44, In re The House of Terrance Proprietary Limited, Serial No. 79048704 (January 6, 2010) [not precedential].The Examining Attorney provided evidence of only seven individuals with the surname RENATI. Applying the relevant Benthin factors, the Board observed that "it is important to weigh the 'rareness' of the surname factor while keeping in mind the purpose of Section 2(e)(4) of the Act."As explained by Judge Seeherman in her concurrence in In re Joint-Stock Company ?Baik?, 84 USPQ2d 1921, 1924 (TTAB 2007), the "purpose behind prohibiting the registration of marks that are primarily merely surnames is not to protect the public from exposure to surnames,...continue to full post

Full post as published by The TTABlog on January 11, 2010 (boomark / email).