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ARTICLE · 30 JULY 2020

Precedential No. 25: TTAB Affirms Section 2(e)(5) Functionality Refusal Of Saw Blade Configuration

Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C.
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In a 62-page opinion, the Board affirmed a Section 2(e)(5) refusal to register the product configuration mark shown below, for "circular saw blades for power operated saws," finding the proposed mark to be de jure functional.

United StatesIntellectual Property
John L. Welch
John L. Welch
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In a 62-page opinion, the Board affirmed a Section 2(e)(5) refusal to register the product configuration mark shown below, for "circular saw blades for power operated saws," finding the proposed mark to be de jure functional. Alternatively, the Board also agreed with the USPTO that Applicant MK Diamond failed to carry its "unusually high burden" of proving that the configuration has acquired distinctiveness. In re MK Diamond Products, Inc., Serial No. 86813875 (July 27, 2020) [precedential] (Opinion by Judge Mark Lebow).

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The proposed mark comprises the curved portions of the slots or cut-outs around the circumference of the blade,which are shown in solid lines. Applicant MK claimed that the precise shape of the cut-outs was chosen arbitrarily in order to differentiate its "Tiger Tooth" diamond saw blades from those of competitors.

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