One of this year’s top trademark cases may yield specifics about what generic means when the U.S. Supreme Court decides if a company can register a generic or descriptive word with dot.com added as a trademark.
The Patent and Trademark Office is fighting a decision that said Booking.com has a distinctive name that identifies a source for consumers, which generally allows marks to qualify for registration even if they merely describe a product. The government said the word “booking” is generic—meaning synonymous with an entire class of products—and adding .com can’t overcome that.
USPTO v. Booking.com B.V. is the most ...