Retail store and distributorship services

A term that is generic for goods is descriptive of retail store services featuring those goods, even when the goods are not a significant item typically sold in the type of store in question. In re Pencils Inc., 1988 TTAB LEXIS 49, at *1-8 (1988) (PENCILS held merely descriptive of office supply store services). However, where the matter sought to be registered identifies the primary articles of a store or distributorship service, the term is considered generic. See, e.g., In re Tires, Tires, Tires, Inc., Ser. No. 77091459, 2009 TTAB LEXIS 654, at *1-2 (2009) (TIRES TIRES TIRES generic for retail tire store services); In re Lens.com, Inc., Ser. No. 78076812, 2007 TTAB LEXIS 55, at *1-15 (2007) (LENS generic for "retail store services featuring contact eyewear products rendered via a global computer network"); In re Eddie Z’s Blinds & Drapery, Inc., Ser. No. 76112441, 2005 TTAB LEXIS 78, at *1-19 (2005) (BLINDSANDDRAPERY.COM generic for retail store services featuring blinds, draperies, and other wall coverings, conducted via the Internet); In re Candy Bouquet Int’l, Inc., Ser. No. 78058216, 2004 TTAB LEXIS 544, at *1-28 (2004) (CANDY BOUQUET generic for "retail, mail, and computer order services in the field of gift packages of candy"); In re A La Vieille Russie, Inc., Ser. No. 75609153, 2001 TTAB LEXIS 541, at *1-19 (2001) (RUSSIANART generic for dealership services in the field of fine art, antiques, furniture, and jewelry); In re Log Cabin Homes Ltd., Ser. No. 74682845, 1999 TTAB LEXIS 425, at *1-14 (1999) (LOG CABIN HOMES generic for retail outlets selling kits for building log homes); In re Bonni Keller Collections Ltd., 1987 TTAB LEXIS 12, at *1-13 (1987) (LA LINGERIE generic for retail stores specializing in the sale of lingerie); In re Wickerware, Inc., 1985 TTAB LEXIS 24, at *1-7 (1985) (WICKERWARE generic for mail order and distributorship services in the field of products made of wicker); In re Half Price Books, Recs., Mags., Inc., 1984 TTAB LEXIS 1, at *1-11 (1984) (HALF PRICE BOOKS RECORDS MAGAZINES generic for retail book and record store services).

In this context, the examining attorney must "analyze the term in relation to the services recited in the application, the context in which it is used and the possible significance it would have to the recipient of the services." In re Pencils, Inc., 1988 TTAB LEXIS 49, at *3.

Restaurant and café services

A term that is generic for a food or dish sold or served by a restaurant or café is descriptive of restaurant or café services. In re Le Sorbet, Inc., 1985 TTAB LEXIS 26, at *3 (1985); see also In re Fr. Croissant, Ltd., 1986 TTAB LEXIS 66, at *4-5 (1986). In this context, the examining attorney must analyze whether evidence shows that restaurants or cafés serve the food or dish. See In re Bayou Grande Coffee Roasting Co., 160 F.4th 1370, 1375-76 (Fed. Cir. 2025) (reversing descriptiveness and generic refusal because there was no evidence in the record that the particular beverage, kahwa, was offered by any café).