A term may be generic for a genus of goods or services if the relevant public understands the term to refer to a key aspect of that genus, such as a key product that characterizes a particular genus of retail services or identifies a category of goods or services within the genus. See Royal Crown Co. v. Coca-Cola Co., 892 F.3d 1358, 1368 (Fed. Cir. 2018) (directing the Board to consider whether the relevant public understands the term ZERO to refer to a key aspect of at least a sub-group or type of the claimed genus of beverages, which encompassed zero-calorie beverages as a sub-group); In re 1800Mattress.com IP, LLC, 586 F.3d 1359, 1361–63 (Fed. Cir. 2009 (agreeing with the Board’s determination that "mattress" was generic as applied to online retail mattress store services because the term identified a key aspect of the services); In re Hotels.com, L.P., 573 F.3d 1300, 1304 (Fed. Cir. 2009) (agreeing with the Board’s determination that, when applied to information services and reservation services dealing with hotels, the term "hotels" was generic because it named a key aspect of the services); In re Uman Diagnostics AB, Ser. No. 88960633, 2023 TTAB LEXIS 77, at *3-4, *10-11, *45-46 (2023) (holding NF-LIGHT generic of a key aspect of applicant’s specimen analysis kits detecting neurological biomarkers in biological human and animal samples used by medical and clinical researchers in labs and institutions, where relevant consumers would understand NF-LIGHT as referring to neurofilament light, the target analyte in applicant’s kit); In re Twenty-Two Desserts, LLC, Ser. No. 86586833, 2019 TTAB LEXIS 269, at *4, *11-12 (2019) (holding MALAI, which refers to an Indian dairy ingredient, generic for applicant’s frozen desserts because relevant consumers would understand it to refer to a key aspect or subcategory of the genus of the goods); In re Emergency Alert Sols. Grp., LLC, Ser. No. 86890565, 2017 TTAB LEXIS 99, at *10-17 (2017) (holding LOCKDOWN ALARM generic because relevant customers would readily understand it to refer to a type of safety, security, and crisis preparedness training, noting that "[t]he subject matter of any training [was] not an insignificant ‘facet’ of the training," but "[was] quite literally the focus of the training"); In re Cent. Sprinkler Co., Ser. No. 74505190, 1988 TTAB LEXIS 386, at *13-16 (1998) (finding ATTIC generic for automatic sprinklers for fire protection because the term "directly names the most important or central aspect or purpose of applicant's goods" and would be understood by the relevant public as referring to a category of sprinklers); In re Reckitt & Colman, N. Am. Inc., Ser. No. 73736589, 1991 TTAB LEXIS 16, at *8-9 (1991) (finding PERMA PRESS generic for soil and stain removers for permanent press fabrics because "the term ‘perma press’ may be considered a term identifying a category of goods at issue—perma press products (including perma press soil and stain removers)"); see also In re Northland Aluminum Prods., Inc., 777 F.2d 1556, 1559-60 (Fed. Cir. 1985) (affirming the Board’s holding that BUNDT is generic for ring cake mix); Shammas v. Rea, 978 F. Supp. 2d 599, 609 (E.D. Va. 2013) (noting that a term "may be generic in connection with [goods] if the relevant public uses the term to refer to [the goods] generally, or if the term does nothing more than identify a distinctive characteristic of [the goods]").

However, a term may be considered generic for restaurant or café services as a key aspect of that genus only when the evidence shows the term identifies a food or dish that is sold or served at restaurants or cafés. See In re Bayou Grande Coffee Roasting Co., 160 F.4th 1370, 1375-76 (Fed. Cir. 2025); In re Cordua Rests., Inc., 823 F.3d 594, 603-04 (Fed. Cir. 2016).