Booking.com B.V. v. Matal
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
278 F. Supp. 3d 891 (E.D. Va. 2017)
Relevant factsFree
Booking.com B.V. (plaintiff) filed trademark applications for "BOOKING.COM" as a word mark and in graphic form for its hotel-reservation and travel services. The USPTO's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board denied the applications, finding the mark either generic for the services offered, or merely descriptive without acquired distinctiveness. Booking.com sued the USPTO and its director (defendants) challenging the denial.
IssueFree
Whether an internet domain name built from a generic term is generally considered a descriptive mark, protectable as a trademark once it has acquired distinctiveness, rather than an unprotectable generic mark.