Osiris Thera-peutics, Inc.

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

Jan 16, 2001

No. 75516973re (T.T.A.B. Jan. 16, 2001)

1/16/01
Paper No. 13
JQ
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
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In re Osiris Therapeutics, Inc.
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Serial No. 75/516,973
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Request for Reconsideration
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William Squire of Carella, Byrne, Bain, Gilfillan, Cecchi,
Stewart & Olstein for applicant.
Fred Mandir, Trademark Examining Attorney, Law Office 105
(Thomas G. Howell, Managing Attorney).
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Before Seeherman, Quinn and Wendel, Administrative
Trademark Judges.
Opinion by Quinn, Administrative Trademark Judge:
The Board, in a decision dated December 19, 2000,
affirmed the refusal to register, finding that the term
ALLOGEN, if applied to “allogeneic human mesenchymal stem
cells for medical therapy namely, for use in conjunction
with transplantation of tissues and solid organs” would be
merely descriptive under Section 2(e)(1) of the Trademark
Act.
THIS DISPOSITION
IS NOT CITABLE AS PRECEDENT
OF THE T.T.A.B.
Applicant has filed a request for reconsideration of
this decision, contending that “[t]he fallacy of [the
Board’s] reasoning is that there is no clear cut definition
of the term” in the evidence relied upon by the Board.
Upon further consideration, we remain of the view that
the record supports affirmance of the refusal to register.
We stand by our statement that “[g]iven the meaning of
‘allogeneic’ relative to cells used in transplantation, and
the use of ‘allogen’ in the English text articles
pertaining to this area, we find that individuals in this
field would view the term ‘allogen’ as a merely descriptive
term, no different than they would view the term
‘allogeneic.’” The fact that the term “allogen” may have
other meanings is not persuasive. The MEDLINE excerpts
show that the term has a definite meaning, that is,
“allogeneic,” when used in connection with goods of the
type identified in the involved application.
The request for reconsideration is denied, and the
decision dated December 19, 2000 stands.