ABB Power T&D Co., Inc.

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

Jan 13, 1998

No. 74678832 (T.T.A.B. Jan. 13, 1998)

THIS DISPOSITION IS NOT
CITABLE AS PRECEDENT OF THE TTAB JAN 13, 98
Paper No. 10
RLS/KRD
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
________
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
________
In re ABB Power T&D Company Inc.
________
Serial No. 74/678,832
_______
Anthony J. Rossi of Woodcock Washburn Kurtz Mackiewicz &
Norris for ABB Power T&D Company Inc.
Cora Moorhead, Trademark Examining Attorney, Law Office 102
(Myra Kurzbard, Managing Attorney).
_______
Before Simms, Seeherman and Hairston, Administrative
Trademark Judges.
Opinion by Simms, Administrative Trademark Judge:
ABB Power T&D Company Inc. (applicant) has appealed
from the final refusal of the Trademark Examining Attorney
to register the mark SAFEGEAR for electrical switchgear.1
The Examining Attorney has refused registration under
Section 2(e)(1) of the Act, 15 USC 1052(e)(1), on the ground
that applicant’s asserted mark is merely descriptive of its

1 Application Serial No. 74/678,832, filed May 22, 1995, based
upon applicant’s claim of use of the mark in commerce since April
1994.
Ser No. 74/678,832
2
goods.2 Applicant and the Examining Attorney have submitted
briefs but no oral hearing was requested.
We reverse.
The Examining Attorney, referring to applicant’s
product literature noting that applicant’s electrical
switchgear “lowers costs and improves safety by controlling
the effects of an arc fault,” argues that the mark SAFEGEAR
attributes a safety quality to applicant’s goods and that
applicant’s product literature indicates that applicant’s
product is safer than conventional switchgear.
It is quite plausible that purchasers
would perceive “safegear” as lauding
quality and excellence to [sic] the
“electrical switchgear”.
Examining Attorney’s appeal brief, 5. The Examining
Attorney refers to dictionary definitions of the words
“safe” (“Affording protection…”) and “gear” (“A complete
assembly that performs a specific function in a larger
machine…”). The Examining Attorney has also relied upon
excerpts from articles obtained from the LEXIS/NEXIS
computer search systems wherein the word “safe” appeared
within twenty words of the word “switchgear”. Some of these
excerpts are quoted below.

2 It is noted that the Examining Attorney in her brief, in the
final refusal and in other papers has stated that applicant’s
mark is “primarily merely descriptive.” The Examining Attorney
is reminded that Section 2(e)(1) of the Trademark Act bars
Ser No. 74/678,832
3
The control and protection equipment for
each pair of feeders is installed in a
small local kiosk. Safe switchgear
operation is provided by the digital
interlocking system 8TK.
Modern Power Systems, June 1993
* * * * * * *
Key interlocks and other tamper-proof
systems prevent the accidental closing
or opening of switches and switchgear
out of sequence when used per system
operating instructions. As with any
other fail-safe systems, there are ways
to override the intended use, which is
to prevent the operation of the
electrical system in the wrong sequence.
EC&M Electrical Construction &
Maintenance, March 1995
* * * * * * *
…GIS switching station on the UCLA
campus is the first fully SF[6] gas-
insulated 38-kV switchgear in utility
service in the United States. It
provides safe, reliable service in a
very limited space.
Electric Light & Power, August 1994
* * * * * * *
While this provides a quick and safe
method of sensing the, [sic] travelling
wave it is not as convenient as sensing
current as the point of pick-up of the
signal will now be in a switchgear
compound rather than in a relay room.
Modern Power Systems, March 1994
* * * * * * * *
I wondered what had happened, and then I
thought of two of my people who were
working in the switchgear room in the

registration of a mark which, “when used on or in connection with
the goods of the applicant is merely descriptive…”
Ser No. 74/678,832
4
basement. Maybe something had shorted
out.”
Immediately he started calling on his
two-way radio, fortunately, everybody
was safe and accounted for…
Heating, Piping, Air-Conditioning,
February 1994
* * * * * * * *
…leaves plenty of room for RTU and
communications interface in same
enclosure; Figure 6. Existing load-
break switchgear in downtown vault is
retrofitted with actuators, RTUs, and
communications interface; Figure 7.
Remote switch operator for safe manual
operation of oil-filled switches is
additional benefit of actuator retrofit…
Electrical World, May 1993
* * * * * * * *
…cause or threaten the most serious
disruption usually involve electrical
equipment that is never supposed to
fail: transformers, bus ducts,
switchgear, etc. The serious mistake is
to assume that the data processing
installation is safe because a lot of
money was spent on power conditioning
systems and standby generators…
EC&M Electrical Construction &
Maintenance, May 1992
* * * * * * * *
…serves to switch the auxiliaries to the
start up grid when disturbances in the
power supply occur, during normal
operation, so that safe shut down of the
complete plant is achieved.
The auxiliaries switchgear feeds the
voltage levels of 6 kV and 380 V ac and
[sic] well as 222 V and 24 V dc.
Modern Power Systems, September 1990
* * * * * * * *
Ser No. 74/678,832
5
The facility is designed for the repair
of radiologically contaminated
electrical and mechanical apparatus,
including motors, generators,
switchgear, and pumps. The center
provides safe, high-quality, and quick
turnaround repairs of contaminated
equipment on a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week…
Nuclear News, October 1988
* * * * * * * *
Although some of these excerpts reveal use of the word
“safe” in connection with the operation of switchgear, it
should be noted that in many of the references the term
“safe” modifies or describes other equipment.3
Applicant argues that, at most, the term SAFEGEAR is
suggestive of an aspect or characteristic of its goods and
that some imagination and perception is required to
determine the nature of its goods. Noting that its goods
include both housing and electrical components within the

3 In other excerpts, the adjective “safe” is used to describe
communication and conveyor control equipment and electrical
power:
One of the major supliers [sic} of
flame-proof switchgear and intrinsically
safe communication and conveyor control
equipment is…
and
Four-color brochure on sealed lead-acid
batteries that provide clean, safe standby
power for office environments. The sealed
batteries are spillproof, maintenance-free
and provide backup power for computers, PBXs,
cellular telephones, switchgear and control
devices…
Ser No. 74/678,832
6
housing, applicant’s attorney argues that the mark SAFEGEAR
is not descriptive of any particular type of switchgear.
Applicant’s unique arc-resistant
construction for its switchgear controls
the effects of an internal arc fault,
which could be catastrophic due to the
high pressures and hot gasses generated
upon the occurrence of an internal arc
fault in the switchgear. Applicant’s
unique construction for its switchgear
channels such high pressures and hot
gasses safely away from personnel.
Applicant’s appeal brief, 5.
It is applicant’s position that the Examining Attorney
has submitted no articles showing the descriptive use of the
term SAFEGEAR or use of the term “safe” to describe a
characteristic of switchgear. In some articles, applicant
maintains, the term “safe” is used to describe the
maintenance of equipment and, in most, the term is used to
modify a noun other than switchgear. Applicant also notes
that the Examining Attorney has submitted no evidence of
third-party use of this term, and argues that manufacturers
of electrical switchgear are free to inform the purchasing
public that their electrical switchgear is safe by
indicating that they make “safe electrical switchgear.” At
most, the evidence shows that the combination of words
conveys that “gear” of some type is safe, not that
switchgear is safe, applicant argues.

Ser No. 74/678,832
7
Whether a term is merely descriptive is not determined
in the abstract, but in relation to the goods for which
registration is sought, the context in which it is used and
the possible significance that the mark would have to the
average purchaser because of the manner of use. In re
Bright-Crest, Ltd., 204 USPQ 591 (TTAB 1979). Of course,
there is often a thin line of separation between a
suggestive term and a merely descriptive term, and the
determination of which category a mark falls into may be
somewhat subjective.
Upon careful consideration of this record, we agree
with applicant that the mark SAFEGEAR is, at most,
suggestive of applicant’s electrical switchgear. While the
term “safe” is undoubtedly a term that one could use to
describe an aspect of some electrical switchgear, there is
simply no evidence in this record that electrical switchgear
or switchgear is ever referred to by the shortened word
“gear.” Compare Remington Products Inc. v. North American
Philips Corp., 892 F.2d 1576, 13 USPQ2d 1444 (Fed. Cir.
1990)(TRAVEL CARE held merely descriptive for certain
personal care products for travelers). If this were the
case, then an argument could be made that applicant’s mark
might be merely descriptive of such “safe gear.” However,
in the absence of such evidence and because we believe that

Ser No. 74/678,832
8
some, although perhaps not much, imagination or reasoning is
required, we hold that the mark SAFEGEAR is not merely
descriptive of applicant’s electrical switchgear.
Decision: The refusal of registration is reversed.
R. L. Simms
E. J. Seeherman
P. T. Hairston
Administrative Trademark
Judges, Trademark Trial
and Appeal Board