The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has ruled that the following US trademark applied for Class 43 – hotel reservations is eligible for registration as a trademark for that class:
Initially, the USPTO refused to register this sign because of its descriptiveness and low distinctive character for the services from Classes 39 and 43.
According to the Court, however, the applicant was given enough pieces of evidence which show that the sign had acquired a secondary distinctiveness for the services from Class 43.
Because of that, the Court ordered the USPTO to register that mark for that class and to analyze whether it is suitable for registration in class 39 taking into account the color and font combination.
As it is well-known even low distinctive signs can receive trademark protection but only if they show acquired secondary meaning through intensive and prolong market use which to suggest that consumers perceive them as a trade source.
Source: The TTABlog.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PLANET 