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ARTICLE · 05 NOVEMBER 2020

TTAB Refuses Registration Of .SUCKS

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC
Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC
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Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC

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In a precedential decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board refused to register .SUCKS, holding that the generic top-level domain does not operate as a trademark.

United StatesIntellectual Property

In a precedential decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board refused to register .SUCKS, holding that the generic top-level domain does not operate as a trademark.

Vox Populi launched the .SUCKS domain in 2015, allowing registration and operation of domains with the suffix .sucks.  For example, Vox Populi's own website, www.get.sucks.  In 2015, the company filed an application to register the term as a trademark for domain registry operator services and domain name registration services.  It later filed an application to register a stylized version of its mark (see below) for substantially the same services. 

Under USPTO policy, "a mark composed solely of a gTLD for domain-name registry operator or registrar services fails to function as a trademark because consumers are predisposed to view gTLDs as merely a portion of a web address rather than as an indicator of the source of domain-name registry operator and registrar services."  Thus, in order to receive

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This post first appeared in Frankfurt Kurnit's Focus on the Data blog (www.focusonthedata.com). It provides general coverage of its subject area. We provide it with the understanding that Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz is not engaged herein in rendering legal advice, and shall not be liable for any damages resulting from any error, inaccuracy, or omission. Our attorneys practice law only in jurisdictions in which they are properly authorized to do so. We do not seek to represent clients in other jurisdictions.

Originally published by the New York Legal Ethics Reporter

www.fkks.com

This alert provides general coverage of its subject area. We provide it with the understanding that Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz is not engaged herein in rendering legal advice, and shall not be liable for any damages resulting from any error, inaccuracy, or omission. Our attorneys practice law only in jurisdictions in which they are properly authorized to do so. We do not seek to represent clients in other jurisdictions.

www.fkks.com

This alert provides general coverage of its subject area. We provide it with the understanding that Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz is not engaged herein in rendering legal advice, and shall not be liable for any damages resulting from any error, inaccuracy, or omission. Our attorneys practice law only in jurisdictions in which they are properly authorized to do so. We do not seek to represent clients in other jurisdictions.

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