Worldwise, Inc.

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

Mar 19, 2008

No. 77091118 (T.T.A.B. Mar. 19, 2008)

Mailed:
March 19, 2008

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
________

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
________

In re Worldwise, Inc.
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Serial No. 77091118
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Malcolm B. Wittenberg of Dergosits & Noah LLP for
Worldwise, Inc.

Christina Sobral, Trademark Examining Attorney, Law Office
109 (Dan Vavonese, Managing Attorney).
_______

Before Seeherman, Walters, and Wellington, Administrative
Trademark Judges.

Opinion by Wellington, Administrative Trademark Judge:

Applicant seeks registration on the Principal Register
of the mark PLAY STATION (in standard character form) for
goods identified as “pet furniture” in International Class
20.1

1 Serial No. 77091118, filed January 25, 2007. The application
is based on applicant’s asserted bona fide intention to use the
mark in commerce. Trademark Act Section 1(b), 15 U.S.C.
§1051(b).
THIS OPINION IS NOT A
PRECEDENT OF THE TTAB
Ser. No. 77091118
2
At issue in this appeal is the Trademark Examining
Attorney’s refusal to register the mark on the ground that
it is merely descriptive of the identified goods.
Trademark Act Section 2(e)(1), 15 U.S.C. §1052(e)(1).
We affirm the refusal to register.
A term is deemed to be merely descriptive of goods or
services, within the meaning of Trademark Act Section
2(e)(1), if it forthwith conveys an immediate idea of an
ingredient, quality, characteristic, feature, function,
purpose or use of the goods or services. See, e.g., In re
Gyulay, 820 F.2d 1216, 3 USPQ2d 1009 (Fed. Cir. 1987), and
In re Abcor Development Corp., 588 F.2d 811, 200 USPQ 215,
217-18 (CCPA 1978). A term need not immediately convey an
idea of each and every specific feature of the applicant’s
goods or services in order to be considered merely
descriptive; it is enough that the term describes one
significant attribute, function or property of the goods or
services. See In re H.U.D.D.L.E., 216 USPQ 358 (TTAB
1982); and In re MBAssociates, 180 USPQ 338 (TTAB 1973).
Whether a term is merely descriptive is determined not in
the abstract, but in relation to the goods or services for
which registration is sought, the context in which it is
being used on or in connection with those goods or
services, and the possible significance that the term would
Ser. No. 77091118
3
have to the average purchaser of the goods or services
because of the manner of its use. That a term may have
other meanings in different contexts is not controlling.
In re Bright-Crest, Ltd., 204 USPQ 591, 593 (TTAB 1979).
Moreover, if the mark is descriptive of any of the goods or
services for which registration is sought, it is proper to
refuse registration as to the entire class. In re Analog
Devices Inc., 6 USPQ2d 1808 (TTAB 1988), aff’d without pub.
op., 871 F.2d 1097, 10 USPQ2d 1879 (Fed. Cir. 1989).
On the record before us, as discussed below, we have
applied the aforesaid principles to the present case and
find that applicant’s mark PLAY STATION is merely
descriptive of the goods identified in the application
i.e., pet furniture.
The Examining Attorney has made of record copies of
screenshots from applicant’s website advertising pet
furniture for cats under the mark PLAY STATION.2 On its
website, applicant describes its goods as an
“indoor/outdoor activity center” and touts them as
providing a “customizable hideaway for feline fun and
adventure...It’s also a comfy refuge for cats that play or
sleep outdoors.”

2 Attached to Examining Attorney’s May 15, 2007 Office Action.
Ser. No. 77091118
4
The evidence of record also shows third-party use of
the terms “play station” or “station” in connection with
pet furniture for cats.3 One online retail website
describes a “Deluxe Cat Amusement Center” as having
“[m]ultiple levels on a dual tower play station.” Other
products are described as having “catnip stations” attached
to the pet furniture. The website evidence also
demonstrates that such products are categorized as “cat
furniture” or “cat designer furniture”; thus, the
identification of goods in the subject application, pet
furniture, encompasses these types of products.
In view of this evidence that “play station” is a term
used for furniture for cats which are activity centers
and/or provide amusement and rest, we find that the mark
PLAY STATION immediately describes a type of furniture for
pet cats. There is no exercise of the imagination,
cogitation, or mental processing required in order for
prospective consumers to readily perceive the merely
descriptive significance of PLAY STATION as it pertains to
pet furniture for cats. Although applicant’s goods are
identified as “pet furniture,” and therefore may include
furniture for other pets for which PLAY STATION may not be

3 Attached to Examining Attorney’s June 27, 2007 Office Action.
Ser. No. 77091118
5
descriptive, this does not affect the fact that PLAY
STATION is merely descriptive of pet furniture for cats.
Applicant has put forth several arguments as to why it
believes the mark PLAY STATION is not merely descriptive.
We have considered these arguments, but find them to be
unpersuasive. First, applicant argues that PLAY STATION
“could mean a number of things which a user could enjoy and
not necessarily pet furniture.” Brief, p. 2. Applicant
offers the example that “a PLAY STATION could be, when
applied to pets, an assembly of play toys...without any
element of furniture being involved.” This argument
ignores the fact that the identification of goods recites,
“pet furniture”; therefore, the descriptiveness question is
decided based on whether someone who knows the goods are
pet furniture (not “an assembly of play toys”) will
understand PLAY STATION as directly conveying information
about the pet furniture.
Applicant also posits that pet furniture sold under
applicant’s mark “may not even be something that lends
itself to pet play. Pet furniture can be nothing more than
shelter….” This argument is not well taken in view of the
third-party website evidence and applicant’s own website
which clearly establish that the identification “pet
furniture” encompasses goods that provide an apparatus for
Ser. No. 77091118
6
cats to play. Thus, applicant’s mark is descriptive of a
type of pet furniture. The fact that “pet furniture” may
encompass other goods that solely provide shelter for pets
(and have no play features) is irrelevant.
Finally, applicant has likened its mark to the marks
in the line of cases holding that the combination of
descriptive terms may result in an overall commercial
impression or connotation that is not merely descriptive of
the goods or services. Applicant also states that “the
combination of words ‘play’ and ‘station’ provides a unique
composite as to the goods identified in the application.”
Brief, p. 4. We disagree with applicant’s contentions. We
have not arrived at our conclusion that the mark is merely
descriptive because the individual words are descriptive,
and that the combination of them is equally descriptive.
The record shows that “play station” has a recognized
meaning in the industry as describing certain types of
furniture for cats.
In view of the above, we find that the evidence
establishes that PLAY STATION is merely descriptive of pet
furniture.
Decision: The refusal to register is affirmed.