Some of the strangest-sounding words in law belong to trademarks. Genericide? Deadwood? Naked licensing? They sound made up, but if you own a brand, they’re worth knowing!
In our game show series Is It Real?, we put trademark jargon to the test and break down what each term actually means in plain English. Some protect your brand, some can cost you your rights, and one is every trademark applicant’s worst enemy. Play along with both volumes, then check the cheat sheet below. When you need to know what’s real, Team Way Law is here to help!
Answer Key
- 1(a): The application basis for a mark that’s already being used to sell a product or service
- Genericide: When a trademark becomes the generic name for a type of product and loses its protection
- Deadwood: Registrations crowding the federal register even though the mark is no longer used for some or all of the listed goods or services
- Reading Room: The USPTO’s online database of final TTAB decisions and precedential orders
- Secondary Meaning: When a term that isn’t normally protectable becomes protectable because the public links it to a single source, like “Bank of America”
- Naked Licensing: Letting someone use your trademark without enough quality control, which can cost you your rights
- 2(d): The section of the Trademark Act behind a “likelihood of confusion” refusal
- 2(f): The section of the Trademark Act that allows registration based on acquired distinctiveness (secondary meaning)
- TESS: The USPTO’s former trademark search database, retired in 2023
- ESTTA: The Electronic System for Trademark Trials and Appeals, used to file certain documents with the TTAB