TTAB Test: Is TWEEDS Generic For Shirts And Sweaters?

The USPTO refused registration of TWEEDS for "shirts; sweaters" on the Supplemental Register, deeming the term to be generic for the goods. Applicant argued that "[t]weed is a fabric, not a shirt or sweater," and that "tweeds" is "merely descriptive of a type of sweater or shirt." How do you think this appeal came out? In re Branded LLC, Serial No. 86529647 (February 13, 2018) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Christopher Larkin).

Applicant first pointed to its ownership of a now-expired registration for TWEEDS for the same goods. The Board shrugged that off, pointing out that each application must be examined on its own merits, and citing In re Cordua Rests., Inc., 118 USPQ2d 1632 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (CHURRASCOS in stylized form found generic for restaurant services despite subsisting "incontestable" registration for the word mark for the same services).