IHOP Challenges USPTO’s Rejection of Federal ‘Flip’d’ Trademark

IHOP Restaurants LLC appealed the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s decision to deny its application for federal trademarks covering “Flip’d"—the name of its planned fast-casual chain—to Virginia federal court.

The USPTO denied IHOP’s application based on likely confusion with a federal trademark for “Flipt” covering “moderately-priced food in a casual atmosphere having table services in a casino.” The trademark is owned by Rivers IP Holdings LLC, and the Flipt restaurants are all located inside Rivers Casinos, the complaint says.

After the trademark examiner’s initial rejection, IHOP amended its application to specify that its “Flip’d” and “Flip’d by IHOP” marks wouldn’t...