IP: What’s In A Name?

Previously published in Inside Counsel

Generic domain names are often not protected under trademark law

The heart of trademark law is brand recognition and source identification. A successful trademark is a mark that immediately conveys to the relevant public the source of the goods and services, the brand. Since trademark law is intended to protect the consumer, it is only fitting that generic marks are not protectable. A generic mark is generally thought of as being devoid of any source indicating significance and simply the common name for a good or service. Unlike descriptive marks, nothing can make a generic mark registrable, and as the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) continue to argue, not even turning a generic word into a domain name by adding ".com." will make a generic term registrable.