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TTAB Affirms Failure-to-Function Refusal of Folded Brochure as Service Mark

The Board said no to Applicant Kathy Sayah's attempt to register the shape and design of a folded brochure (shown below) as a service mark for advertising and printing services, because the brochure fails to function as a mark. The Board found the brochure to be not inherently distinctive and it deemed Sayah's proof of acquired distinctiveness to be insufficient. In re Sayah, Serial No. 76486273 (June 18, 2009) [not precedential].Sayah's design consists of "the size and shape of folded printed materials finished to a size of approximately 2 inches by 4 inches; the location of a business name or picture on the front cover; the location of a map and a border of approximately one sixteenth of an inch on the back cover; the location of a product or a price list between the front and back cover...continue to full post

Full post as published by The TTABlog on July 06, 2009 (boomark / email).