RENCO Encoders Inc.

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

Jul 11, 2002

No. 75586073 (T.T.A.B. Jul. 11, 2002)

Hearing:
March 12, 2002
Mailed: July 11, 2002
Paper No. 15
CEW

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
___________

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
___________

In re RENCO Encoders Inc.
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Serial No. 75/586,073
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David Toren and Shifra N. Malina of Brown & Wood for
RENCO Encoders Inc.

M. Catherine Faint, Trademark Examining Attorney, Law
Office 103 (Michael Hamilton, Managing Attorney).1
____________

Before Simms, Seeherman and Walters, Administrative
Trademark Judges.

Opinion by Walters, Administrative Trademark Judge:

RENCO Encoders Inc. has filed an application to
register the mark DYNAMIC RESOLUTION for “longitudinal
and angle measuring apparatus, namely, linear, rotary and

1 Trademark Examining Attorney Gina Fink appeared and
argued this case at the hearing.

THIS DISPOSITION IS
NOT
CITABLE AS PRECEDENT
OF THE TTAB
Serial No. 75/586,073
2
angle encoders; electrical controllers for the
aforementioned goods.”2
The Trademark Examining Attorney has issued a final
refusal to register, under Section 2(e)(1) of the
Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1052(e)(1), on the ground that
applicant’s mark is merely descriptive of its goods.
Applicant has appealed. Both applicant and the
Examining Attorney have filed briefs, and an oral hearing
was held. We affirm the refusal to register.
The Examining Attorney contends that “dynamic
resolution” is a unit of measurement; that applicant’s
goods are used to take measurements; and that, as such,
the term is merely descriptive of applicant’s goods,
encoders that use electrical controllers.
The Examining Attorney submitted definitions of
“dynamic,” from two dictionaries, as “marked by usually
continuous and productive activity or change”3; and as
“adj. – 1.a. of or relating to energy or to objects in
motion. b. of or relating to the study of dynamics. 2.
Characterized by continuous change, activity, or progress

2 Serial No. 75/586,073, in International Class 9, filed
November 10, 1998, based on an allegation of a bona fide
intention to use the mark in commerce.

3 Merriam-Webster’s Online Collegiate Dictionary, www.m-
w.com, January 8, 2001.
Serial No. 75/586,073
3
….4 We take judicial notice of the definition, in part,
of the noun “dynamics” in the latter dictionary as “the
study of the relationship between motion and the forces
affecting motion.”
The Examining Attorney also submitted an excerpt
entitled “Glossary of Encoder Terms” from applicant’s
Internet web site wherein the following definitions
appear:
resolution - measuring step, smallest digital
unit of measuring value;

encoder - apparatus consisting of a measuring
standard and a scanning unit (transducer,
sensor);

angle encoder – angle measuring device, converts
the shaft rotation angle into electrical signals
(can be incremental or absolute);

dynamic scanning - scanning method by which two
alternating signals of constant amplitude and
slightly different frequencies are generated and
where the phase between the two signals
represents the measuring value;

static scanning – scanning method which
generates periodic signals during movement; the
signal periods and fractions thereof correspond
to a definite linear or angular displacement.

The Examining Attorney submitted numerous third-
party registrations for marks that include the disclaimed

4 The American Heritage Dictionary of the English
Language, 3rd ed., 1992.

Serial No. 75/586,073
4
term “dynamic” for various electronics products5;
representative excerpts of articles from the Lexis/Nexis
database which include use of the term “dynamic
resolution”; and excerpts from patents.6
The following are examples of the Lexis/Nexis
excerpts:
An article from the September 1998 issue of
Quality is headlined “Noncontact measurement:
Can laser triangulation help you?” The excerpt
states in pertinent part: “It is expected that
the use of noncontact sensors in engineered
systems will increase since process control is
now emphasized as much as final inspection. …
Confused by the laser jargon? Here are
definitions to help you … dynamic resolution –
the smallest detectable change in height when
the sensor is moved horizontally over a NIST-
traceable step gage of known height.”

An article from the September 1990 issue of
Microwave Journal is headlined “Using digitizing
signal analyzers for frequency domain analysis;
analysis of microwave signals.” The excerpt
states in pertinent part: How windowing impacts
the measurement attributes, frequency
resolution, dynamic resolution and accuracy
depends on the filtering characteristics of the
window.”

5 Those third-party registrations for non-electronics
goods are not relevant and have not been considered.

6 A number of the excerpted articles and patents pertain
to photographic imaging and other types of visual
imaging. The term “dynamic resolution” appears to have a
distinct meaning in relation to visual imaging. No
connection between this use of the term and the field of
goods of applicant is established in the record before
us. Therefore, such evidence has not been considered to
be relevant.

Serial No. 75/586,073
5

Of the patents submitted, two appear to relate to
electronics and contain the following statements:
Universal garage door opener (No. 6,072,404): …
The algorithm for the unknown decoding process
is therefore a dynamic resolution process in
which the system resolution is calculated based
upon the minimum pulse width of the transmission
signal to be sampled. …

Power controller and method of operating an
electrical smoking system (No. 6,040,560): …
Accordingly, the digital executions of the logic
circuit 195’ for the dynamic resolution of
t[off](or duty cycle) can be undertaken as
described above using given values of target
power and phase duration or alternatively, with
given values of total energy perphase, together
with the set of given phase durations.

Applicant argues that there is no dictionary
definition of the term “dynamic resolution”; that
“dynamic” has many meanings; that one of the meanings of
“dynamic” is “movement and energy, whereas the definition
of “resolution” is “firmness, solving and courage,” and
that these two contradictory terms form a unique
“oxymoronic trademark.” Applicant contends that the
patents and article excerpts submitted by the Examining
Attorney are inapposite because they do not pertain to
location encoders.
During the oral hearing of this case, applicant’s
counsel conceded that “resolution” is a term of
measurement in relation to these goods; that “high
Serial No. 75/586,073
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resolution” and “coarse resolution” are both terms used
in this field; clarified that measurement is a function
of applicant’s goods; and that applicant’s goods obtain
measurements at discrete intervals of time. Also at the
hearing, the Examining Attorney described the goods as
operating by measuring the time between alternating
signals and applicant’s counsel did not dispute this
statement.
The test for determining whether a mark is merely
descriptive is whether it immediately conveys information
concerning a quality, characteristic, function,
ingredient, attribute or feature of the product or
service in connection with which it is used, or intended
to be used. In re Engineering Systems Corp., 2 USPQ2d
1075 (TTAB 1986); In re Bright-Crest, Ltd., 204 USPQ 591
(TTAB 1979). It is not necessary, in order to find a
mark merely descriptive, that the mark describe each
feature of the goods or services, only that it describe a
single, significant quality, feature, etc. In re Venture
Lending Associates, 226 USPQ 285 (TTAB 1985). Further,
it is well-established that the determination of mere
descriptiveness must be made not in the abstract or on
the basis of guesswork, but in relation to the goods or
services for which registration is sought, the context in
Serial No. 75/586,073
7
which the mark is used, and the impact that it is likely
to make on the average purchaser of such goods or
services. In re Recovery, 196 USPQ 830 (TTAB 1977).
We turn to a consideration of the evidence and note
that these are clearly highly technical goods and,
because this is an intent-to-use application, we do not
have specimens to provide additional information as to
the specifics of applicant’s goods.7 The excerpts of
articles and patents submitted by the Examining Attorney
demonstrate that the term “dynamic resolution” is a
unitary term having a recognized meaning in the
electronics field. Thus, applicant’s attempts to apply
separate definitions of “dynamic” and “resolution” to
conclude that “dynamic resolution” is an oxymoron is
disingenuous and unpersuasive.
Further, it is very clear from this record,
particularly applicant’s own glossary from its Internet
web site, that the term “resolution” is a term of
measurement in this field of goods and that encoders
operate by taking measurements of various electronic

7 Oral hearings are valuable, in part, because such hearings
allow the Board to question an applicant’s attorney about the
nature of the goods or services involved. However, in this
case, applicant’s attorney was inappropriately vague and she was
unable to answer questions about the specific nature of the
goods.

Serial No. 75/586,073
8
signals. Therefore, we conclude that “resolution” is a
merely descriptive term in connection with applicant’s
goods.
It is also clear from the above-quoted sections of
applicant’s glossary that an encoder includes a scanning
unit to obtain measurements and that the term “dynamic”
is used to describe a type of scanning, in juxtaposition
to “static scanning.” The term “dynamic” is used in this
context in its relevant ordinary dictionary sense, i.e.,
“marked by usually continuous and productive activity or
change.” Used in this same sense in combination with the
term “resolution,” the term “dynamic resolution” will be
understood by relevant consumers in this field as
describing a significant aspect of the measurement
process. This conclusion is supported by the uses of the
term “dynamic resolution” in the other electronics-
related articles and patent excerpts of record. We are
not convinced otherwise by applicant’s arguments to the
contrary.
In conclusion, when applied to applicant’s goods,
the term DYNAMIC RESOLUTION immediately describes,
without conjecture or speculation, a significant feature
or function of applicant’s goods. Nothing requires the
exercise of imagination, cogitation, mental processing or
Serial No. 75/586,073
9
gathering of further information in order for purchasers
of and prospective customers for applicant’s goods to
readily perceive the merely descriptive significance of
the term DYNAMIC RESOLUTION as it pertains to applicant’s
goods.
Decision: The refusal under Section 2(e)(1) of the
Act is affirmed.