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ARTICLE · 04 FEBRUARY 2022

CAFC Affirms TTAB: ".SUCKS" (Stylized) Fails To Function As A Source Indicator For Domain Registry Operator Services

Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C.
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In October 2020, the TTAB upheld failure-to-function refusals of the term .SUCKS in standard character and in stylized form (shown below), for domain registry services related to ...

United StatesIntellectual Property
John L. Welch
John L. Welch
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In October 2020, the TTAB upheld failure-to-function refusals of the term .SUCKS in standard character and in stylized form (shown below), for domain registry services related to the gTLD in the proposed mark. [TTABlogged here]. Applicant Vox Populi appealed only the refusal of the stylized version of the mark, arguing that the stylization makes the proposed mark registrable. The court, however, found no error in the Board's conclusion that the stylized form of .SUCKS fails to create a commercial impression separate from the unregistrable term .SUCKS. In re Vox Populi Registry Ltd., Appeal No. 2021-1496 (Fed. Cir. February 2, 2022) [precedential (Opinion by Judge Timothy B. Dyk).

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