Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Holds That Phrases Containing Descriptive and Generic Terms May Have Acquired Distinctiveness

In a precedential decision issued on April 23, 2018, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the Board) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) held that a phrase consisting of geographically descriptive and generic terms may still have acquired distinctiveness although the generic terms must be disclaimed. In re: American Furniture Warehouse Co., 126 U.S.P.Q.2d 1400 (T.T.A.B. 2018).