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Finding "A-HOLE PATROL" Scandalous for Online Social Club Screening, TTAB Affirms 2(a) Refusal

Applicant JibJab found itself in a hole after the PTO's Section 2(a) refusal of A-HOLE PATROL for an "Online social club that screens jokes submitted by users to control offensive and inappropriate content." JibJab's effort at self-extrication through TTAB appeal yielded only the Board's agreement with Examining Attorney Gina Hayes that the mark is scandalous and therefore unregistrable. In re Jibjab Media, Inc., Serial No. 78951377 (February 4, 2009) [not precedential].The PTO relied on dictionary definitions of "asshole" and "A-hole" [I won't bother to repeat them here, since you know them when you see them - ed.] to show that A-HOLE means asshole and is therefore scandalous.JibJab pulled several arguments out of its arsenal, but none were successful...continue to full post

Full post as published by The TTABlog on February 13, 2009 (boomark / email).