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Precedential No. 8: Divided TTAB Panel Affirms Refusal to Register Chippendales' "Cuffs & Collar Mark"

In a highly entertaining 41-page opinion [stripped here to its bare essentials], a divided TTAB panel affirmed the PTO's refusal to register the "Cuffs & Collar" design mark shown below, finding it not inherently distinctive for "adult entertainment services, namely exotic dancing for women in the nature of live performances." [Applicant Chippendales already owns an incontestable, Section 2(f) registration for the same mark; it was seeking to establish inherent distinctiveness this time around.] In re Chippendales USA, Inc., Serial No. 78666598 (March 25, 2009) [precedential].Observing that application of the packaging/product design dichotomy [the former may be inherently distinctive, the latter cannot be] is not feasible when considering a service mark, the Board stated that it "must simply assess whether it is reasonable to assume that the consumer is predisposed to view the trade dress as a source indicator...continue to full post

Full post as published by The TTABlog on March 26, 2009 (boomark / email).