In Re Cordua Restaurants, Inc

823 F.3d 594 (2016)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P owns and operates a chain of five restaurants branded as 'Churrascos,' the first of which opened in 1988. P applied for registration of the service mark CHURRASCOS (in standard character format) and obtained U.S. Trademark Registration No. 3,439,321 on June 3, 2008, for use of the word in connection with 'restaurant and bar services; catering.' On January 10, 2011, P filed U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 85/214,191 seeking protection of the stylized form of CHURRASCOS for use in connection with 'Bar and restaurant services; Catering.' It was rejected as merely descriptive and on the basis that 'the applied-for mark is generic for applicant's services,' barring registration under Lanham Act § 2(e)(1). With respect to genericness, the examiner concluded that the term 'churrascos' 'refers to beef or grilled meat more generally' and that the term 'identifies a key characteristic or feature of the restaurant services, namely, the type of restaurant.' The TTAB affirmed the examiner's refusal in that ''churrascos' is the generic term for a type of cooked meat' and 'a generic term for a restaurant featuring churrasco steaks.' P appealed.