Most everybody knows about "Serial," the award-winning
investigative journalism podcast that tells a story in ... serial
form. Despite the podcast's popularity and recognition in the
media, the US Patent and Trademark Office's appeal board ruled
on March 26, 2018, that "serial" is generic for a
multi-installment audio program and can't be registered as a
trademark.
Unlike arbitrary or fanciful terms, like AMAZON for an online
marketplace or VERIZON for cell phone services, descriptive terms,
such as CARTOON NETWORK for a cartoon TV channel, WINDOWS for an
operating system using windows, and SPORTS ILLUSTRATED for a sports
magazine with pictures, can be protected upon proof they have
developed "secondary meaning" as brand names. A trademark
owner can show secondary meaning by lengthy use in commerce,
large-scale advertising expenses, lots of media references, or
surveys of consumer recognition, among other things.
