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ARTICLE · 31 AUGUST 2021

TTAB Affirms Section 2(e)(5) Functionality Refusal Of Iconic Eames Chair Design

Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C.
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The Board upheld a Section 2(e)(5) refusal to register the design of the Eames chair (shown below) for "furniture, namely chairs," finding the configuration to be de jure functional.

United StatesIntellectual Property
John L. Welch
John L. Welch
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The Board upheld a Section 2(e)(5) refusal to register the design of the Eames chair (shown below) for "furniture, namely chairs," finding the configuration to be de jure functional. The well known Eames chair was designed in the 1940s and was recognized by Time magazine as the Best Design of the 20th Century. The Board applied the ever-popular Morton-Norwich factors in concluding that "[t]he patent evidence, the advertisements touting the utilitarian advantages of significant design features of the proposed mark, and the limited availability of alternative designs that would work equally well highlight that the features of the proposed mark affect the cost and quality of the chairs"  In re Herman Miller, Inc., Serial No. 88027008 (August 25, 2021) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Cynthia C. Lynch). 

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