Door Shuts on Trademark Registration for ‘We Buy Houses’

The phrase “we buy houses” is generic and can’t be claimed as a trademark by a single company, a federal court has said.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Aug. 29 rejected a motion to reconsider its decision granting Express Homebuyers USA LLC’s request to knock out two trademark registrations covering the phrase.

The summary judgment ruling noted that newspapers had published the phrase being used generically as far back as 1898.T he court also granted summary judgment to Express Homebuyers on WBH’s claims of false advertising, defamation, and conspiracy.

The case shows that applicants can ...