Zenith Products Corp.

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

Feb 28, 2001

No. 75549127 (T.T.A.B. Feb. 28, 2001)

02/28/01
Paper No. 9
DEB
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
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In re Zenith Products Corporation
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Serial No. 75/549,127
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Edgar A. Zarins of Masco Corporation for Zenith Products
Corporation.
Rebecca Gilbert, Trademark Examining Attorney, Law Office 113
(Odette Bonnet, Acting Managing Attorney).
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Before Walters, Wendel and Bucher, Administrative Trademark
Judges.
Opinion by Bucher, Administrative Trademark Judge:
Zenith Products Corporation has filed a trademark
application to register the mark COUNTRY COTTAGE for goods
identified as amended as “bathroom cabinets and bathroom
shelving” in International Class 20.1
The Trademark Examining Attorney has finally refused
registration on the ground that applicant’s mark is merely
1 Serial No. 75/549,127, filed September 8, 1998, based upon an
allegation of a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce.
THIS DISPOSITION
IS NOT CITABLE AS PRECEDENT
OF THE T.T.A.B.
Serial No. 75/549,127
2
descriptive of its goods, under Section 2(e)(1) of the
Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1052(e)(1).
Applicant has appealed. Both applicant and the Examining
Attorney have filed briefs, but applicant did not request an
oral hearing. We affirm the refusal to register.
The Trademark Examining Attorney contends that the mark
COUNTRY COTTAGE merely describes a style of furniture or
interior décor. In support of this position, she has placed
into the record stories from the LEXIS/NEXIS database and from
the Internet. In response, applicant argues that consumers
would not be able to determine from the COUNTRY COTTAGE mark
that the goods were bathroom cabinets.
The test for determining whether a mark is merely
descriptive is whether the involved term 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 Bright-Crest, Ltd., 204 USPQ 591 (TTAB 1979); In re
Engineering Systems Corp., 2 USPQ2d 1075 (TTAB 1986). It is
not necessary, in order to find a mark merely descriptive,
that the mark describe each feature of the goods, 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
Serial No. 75/549,127
3
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 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).
In the case before us, we agree with the Trademark
Examining Attorney that COUNTRY COTTAGE is merely descriptive
in connection with the identified bathroom furnishings. From
the Internet evidence placed in the record by the Trademark
Examining Attorney, it seems that the term is most frequently
used in advertisements placed by Realtors, rental agents or
innkeepers to describe a style of décor:2
Comfortable and charming, each [cottage] is
decorated individually in a country cottage
style with comfy beds, good lighting and
quality furnishings. (www.bedandbreakfast.com
December 13, 1999)
Decorated throughout in a tasteful country
cottage style, this lovely Key Biscayne home
2 We note that of the nine LEXIS/NEXIS excerpts attached to the April
1, 1999 Office action, only the first one was from a domestic newspaper,
The Florida Times-Union. One excerpt was from a newswire service story and
hence is of limited probative value because it is not clear that such a
story has appeared in any publication available to the consuming public.
See, In re Marico Inc., 24 USPQ2d 1938 (TTAB 1992); and In re Men’s
International Professional Tennis Council, 1 USPQ2d 1917 (TTAB 1986).
Further, seven excerpts were taken from foreign newspapers – primarily from
the U.K., where this particular décor style likely originated.
However, the Internet excerpts shown herein, which were attached to
the Final Office action of December 15, 1999, do support the contention of
the Trademark Examining Attorney that this term is recognized as a style of
furnishing or decorating.
Serial No. 75/549,127
4
provides a vacation experience unlike any
other. (www.key-biscayne.com December 13, 1999)
The Three Sisters – Small and cozy Country
Cottage décor with a charming trellis look.
(www.campbellhouse.com December 13, 1999)
The Pratt Family – Charming country cottage
style, decorate in warm hunter greens and fall
colors. (www.campbellhouse.com December 13,
1999)
The Inn on Trout River … Guest rooms are
furnished in either country Victorian or
English country cottage style, and have queen-
sized beds with down quilts. (www.inns.com
December 13, 1999)
Although the term “country cottage,” considered in the
abstract, might well not call to mind bathroom cabinets or
shelving, that is not the appropriate test. Applicant has
provided no evidence that in connection with these bathroom
furnishings, the term would be perceived by the relevant
public as anything other than a style of décor. Considering
the term in the context of the goods as described in the
application, as we must, the term “country cottage” directly
conveys information about the style of applicant’s goods.
This conclusion is not contradicted by any other evidence in
the record.
Decision: The refusal to register is affirmed.