In general, a trademark applicant is not permitted to amend its applied-for mark to add or delete material. Thus, the Board found that the applicant’s proposed mark GOD BLESS THE USA was “devoid of source-identifying significance and therefore fails to function as a trademark.” “It is well settled that not every designation that is placed or used on a product necessarily functions as a trademark for said product and not every designation adopted with the intention that it perform a trademark function necessarily accomplishes that purpose.” In this case, the relevant consumers are members of the general public, who may or may not be music aficionados familiar with the applicant’s work. Greenwood’s ‘talent and fame’ and ‘the notoriety of his iconic song ‘God Bless the USA’’ and his close association therewith…,” the applicant maintained that the public will regard the proposed mark as his trademark.
The applicant insisted that “God Bless the USA” would be commonly recognized as his signature song: “In view of Mr. may influence how the is perceived.’” The Board concluded that in this case, “as there, the record indicates that the phrase GOD BLESS THE USA is displayed, not as a source indicator, but as an expression of patriotism, affection, or affiliation with the United States of America.” There, the Board found that the “widespread ornamental use of the phrase by third parties ‘is part of the environment in which the is perceived by the public and. Chien, 120 USPQ2d 1710, 1713 (TTAB 2016), where the phrase “I ♥ DC” was commonly available on a range of goods, from apparel and aprons to commuter cups and keychains. The Board looked to the seminal case D.C.
The Board believed that this common use by third parties rendered it less likely that the public would perceive the phrase as identifying a single commercial source. Those websites showed that a variety of sources prominently displayed the phrase GOD BLESS THE USA ornamentally on a range of household items such as mugs, pillows, ornaments, and the like. To determine how consumers are likely to perceive the phrase sought to be registered, the Board looked not only to the applicant’s specimens of record, but to evidence obtained from over three dozen third-party websites. The Board noted that consumers ordinarily take widely used, commonplace messages at their ordinary meaning, and not as source indicators, absent evidence to the contrary. Where the evidence suggests that the ordinary consumer would perceive the words at their ordinary meaning rather than see them as a trademark, they fail to function as a mark. The critical inquiry is how the mark would be perceived by the relevant consuming public. To function as a trademark, a proposed mark must “identify and distinguish his or her goods, … from those manufactured or sold by others and … indicate the source of the goods, even if that source is unknown.” Citing In re Texas With Love, LLC (blogged here ). The Examining Attorney did not permit the amendment because it was deemed to be a material alteration of GOD BLESS THE USA. Eventually, the applicant requested an amendment of the “drawing” of its trademark to read: THE LEE GREENWOOD COLLECTION GOD BLESS THE USA. The applicant submitted arguments and evidence to traverse the refusal but met with no success. “As such, it does not function as a trademark to indicate the source of applicant’s goods and to identify and distinguish them from others.” (First Office Action).
Lee greenwood proud to be an american registration#
Additionally, the Board affirmed the Trademark Examining Attorney’s refusal to accept the Applicant’s request to amend its trademark to THE LEE GREENWOOD COLLECTION GOD BLESS THE USA on the ground that it was a material alteration of the originally applied-for mark.Īpplicant Lee Greenwood is a country music artist, famous for his hit song “God Bless the USA.” On September 12, 2016, Greenwood filed an application to register the song title as a trademark on home decor, and submitted a hangtag label to demonstrate that he is using the phrase as a trademark for the goods:Īlthough the trademark was used properly on labels (and not merely placed ornamentally on the home decor items themselves), the Examining Attorney assigned refused registration of the mark on the ground that it conveyed an informational social, political, religious, or similar kind of message.
Lee greenwood proud to be an american trial#
In a precedential decision, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) affirmed the refusal to register the trademark GOD BLESS THE USA for home decor items on the ground that it failed to function as a trademark.
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