Automated Summary
Key Facts
Broken Arrow Beef and Provision, LLC, a limited liability company located in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, sought registration on the Principal Register of the mark BA BEEF in standard characters for beef, flavored nuts, frozen fish, pork, poultry, preserved fish, processed pecans, seasoned nuts, and chicken in International Class 29. The Trademark Examining Attorney refused registration under Section 2(e)(2) of the Trademark Act on the ground that the proposed mark is primarily geographically descriptive. The TTAB reversed the refusal, finding that the Examining Attorney failed to establish that the letters BA in the mark BA BEEF identify a place known generally to the relevant American public (beef consumers throughout the United States). The Board determined that BA is a relatively obscure term that would not be perceived as a geographic reference to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma by beef consumers outside the local area.
Issues
- The Board must evaluate whether the letters BA in the applied mark identify a place known generally to the relevant American public, which is the first element of the geographic descriptiveness test that the Examining Attorney must establish to refuse registration.
- The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board must determine whether the mark BA BEEF is primarily geographically descriptive under Section 2(e)(2) of the Trademark Act, which prohibits registration if the mark is the name of a place known generally to the public and consumers would associate the goods with that place.
Holdings
The TTAB reversed the Examining Attorney's refusal to register the mark BA BEEF because the record failed to establish that 'BA' is a place known generally to the relevant American public for beef consumers, as required under Section 2(e)(2) of the Trademark Act. The Board found that while 'BA' may be locally recognized in the Tulsa metropolitan area, it is a relatively obscure term that would not be perceived as a geographic reference to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma by beef consumers outside the local region.
Remedies
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board reversed the Examining Attorney's refusal to register the mark BA BEEF on the Principal Register, finding that the Examining Attorney failed to establish that the letters 'BA' in the mark are a place known generally to the relevant American public.
Legal Principles
Section 2(e)(2) of the Trademark Act prohibits registration of marks primarily geographically descriptive of goods. The Examining Attorney bears the burden to show three elements: (1) the mark is the name of a place known generally to the public, (2) the public would make a goods/place association, and (3) the source of goods is the geographic region. To prove the first element, the Examining Attorney must show that the mark identifies 'a place known generally to the relevant American public' with substantial evidence, not just local recognition.
Precedent Name
- In re Narada Prods. Inc.
- In re Cox Enters. Inc.
- In re Newbridge Cutlery Co.
- In re Trans Cont'l Records, Inc.
Cited Statute
Trademark Act
Judge Name
- Hightower
- Bergsman
- Larkin
Passage Text
- The court compares the evidence to Trans Cont'l Records, noting that while evidence of 'BA' as Broken Arrow is more extensive than 'O-TOWN' for Orlando, it lacks the same geographic clarity and recognition.
- The court finds that the letters 'BA' in the mark BA BEEF do not identify a place known generally to the relevant American public, reversing the Examining Attorney's refusal to register the mark.
- The court concludes that 'BA' is a relatively obscure term that would not be perceived as a geographic reference to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma by beef consumers outside the local area.