Registering Slogans in the United States Published: April 21, 2021
Elizabeth Stafki Pirkey Barber PLLC Austin, Texas, USA INTA Bulletins North America Subcommittee
Slogans can be highly effective promotional tools. By design, they are attention-grabbing and punchy. They may convey information about goods or services or make a claim that the goods or services are the best that money can buy. However, some of the same elements that make slogans attractive to brand owners can also render them unregistrable.
This article examines some of the most common grounds for refusal of registration for slogans in the United States and proposes tips for avoiding them, especially at
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In a case markedly similar to the
#MAGICNUMBER108 case of two years ago [which Cub fans may
remember], the Board sustained the University of Kentucky s
opposition to registration of the proposed
mark
40-0 for t-shirts, finding that the
term is a widely used, common expression that fails to function as
a trademark. The University did not go undefeated, however. The
Board dismissed UK s fraud claim and granted the
applicant s motion to amend its use-based application to delete
certain goods for which the mark had not been used.