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

Intellectual Property Law

: The TTABlog

TTAB Affirms Genericness Refusal of "JOC" For ... Guess What?

Applicant Joe Wiens failed to gain TTAB support in his appeal from a refusal to register, on the Supplemental Register, the term JOC for "protective athletic garments," namely, clothing with built-in cup pouches or protective cups. Examining Attorney Sharon A. Meier maintained that "joc" is the phonetic equivalent of the term "jock," which is generic for the goods. The Board agreed. In re Joel Wiens, Serial No. 78526520 (October 13, 2010) [not precedential].The Examining Attorney relied on dictionary definitions of "jock," a third-party patent registration [What's that? - ed.], and many third-party web pages showing use of the term "jock" in connection with clothing of the type identified in the involved application.Wiens conceded that JOC is merely descriptive, but argued that there are "two different definitions for the term 'Jock' in the same context [athlete and athletic supporter]...continue to full post

Full post as published by The TTABlog on October 22, 2010 (boomark / email).