Trademark Refused Registration Because It Was Generic

In In re Nordic Naturals, Inc., No. 13-1492 (Fed. Cir. June 23, 2014), the Federal Circuit affirmed the TTAB's refusal to register CHILDREN'S DHA because the mark was generic.

Nordic Naturals, Inc. ("Nordic") applied to register CHILDREN'S DHA for nutritional supplements containing docosahexaenoic acid ("DHA"), an omega-3 fatty acid that assists in brain development.  During prosecution, Nordic disclaimed exclusive use of DHA apart from its use in the mark as a whole and clarified that it was designed for use by children.  The examining attorney refused registration because the mark was generic or, alternatively, because it lacked acquired distinctiveness.  Nordic appealed to the TTAB, which upheld the examining attorney's findings that the mark was generic and had not acquired distinctiveness.  The TTAB found that the relevant goods were "nutritional supplements containing DHA" and that the relevant public for these goods "consists of parents or other adults seeking