Reversed Refusal and Obtained Registration of Four Trademarks

Weiss & Arons’ partner Abigail Rubinstein Esq. prevailed in an appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board after refusal of four trademark registrations on the basis of descriptiveness. The Examining Attorney withdrew refusals of two of the marks after considering Weiss & Arons’ appeal briefs. The Board agreed with our arguments that the Examiner’s evidence did not support a finding and reversed the refusal to register.  The issue on appeal was whether the abbreviations DR and PH “have become so generally understood as representing descriptive words (distal radius and proximal humerous) as to be accepted as substantially synonymous therewith.” Modern Optics, Inc. v. Univis Lens Co., 234 F.2d 504, 110 USPQ 293, 295 (CCPA 1956).  Weiss & Arons proved to the TTAB that the relevant consumers in the orthopedic field did not immediately understand “DR” and “PH” to refer to “distal radius” and “proximal humerous” and the Board reversed the examining attorney’s refusal.