[E-trademarks] Indisputably "merely descriptive" mark registered without disclaimer (and no 2(f) claim)

[Kevin Grierson]

I don’t think the error affects the statutory advantages that affect enforceability—they would still have the presumption of ownership, validity, etc. that you get with a registration on the Principal Register—but having a registration on the Principal Register wouldn’t change the fact that the mark is inherently weak.  The fact that you don’t have an admission of descriptiveness doesn’t mean that a court wouldn’t note the obvious, error or no.

Put differently, I don’t think you could defend an infringement claim on the ground that the PTO shouldn’t have granted the registration, but the facts that should have led to the refusal are still there to use as a defense.


Kevin Grierson​​​​

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From: E-trademarks <e-trademarks-bounces at oppedahl-lists.com> On Behalf Of Jessica R. Friedman via E-trademarks
Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2025 11:46 AM
To: For trademark practitioners. This is not for laypersons to seek legal advice. <e-trademarks at oppedahl-lists.com>
Cc: Jessica R. Friedman <jrfriedman at litproplaw.com>
Subject: [E-trademarks] Indisputably "merely descriptive" mark registered without disclaimer (and no 2(f) claim)

EXTERNAL EMAIL
The mark COMPUTER SCIENCE FOR THE REAL WORLD is registered for books about computer science in various media without a disclaimer of COMPUTER SCIENCE, despite the fact that COMPUTER SCIENCE clearly is “merely descriptive” for books about computer science, and, the applicant did not claim secondary meaning.

There’s no point asking how the PTO let that application proceed without the disclaimer in the first place. But would this registration actually be enforceable without proof of secondary meaning?  I guess I’m asking whether the clear error in the registration would be a defense to an infringement claim, or even a refusal to register a similar mark, even if I’m not asking the question in quite the right way.


Jessica R. Friedman
Attorney at Law
300 East 59 Street, Ste. 2406
New York, NY 10022
Phone: 212-220-0900
Cell: 917-647-1884
E-mail: jrfriedman at litproplaw.com<mailto:jrfriedman at litproplaw.com>
URL: www.literarypropertylaw.com<http://www.literarypropertylaw.com/>

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