PTAB Refuses To Register "Unlimited Carryover" As A Trademark

In a precedential ruling, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has affirmed the decision of a Trademark Examining Attorney that Tracfone Wireless, Inc. may not register the phrase "Unlimited Carryover" as a trademark for its telecommunications services, finding that the phrase merely conveys information about the company's wireless services.

In In re TracFone Wireless, Inc., case number 87221529 (PTAB), the Examining Attorney originally refused registration for "Unlimited Carryover" under 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051-53 and 1127, on the ground that the proposed mark, as shown on the specimens of record, fails to function as a service mark for the recited services.