BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

Jul 2, 2013

No. 85396581 (T.T.A.B. Jul. 2, 2013)

Mailed: Friday, July 2, 2013

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
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In re BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems
Integration Inc.
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Serial No. 85396581
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Daniel J. Long for BAE Systems Information and Electronic
Systems Integration Inc.

Kathleen Lorenzo, Trademark Examining Attorney, Law Office
109 (Gwen Stokols, Senior Attorney).
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Before Bucher, Wellington, and Adlin,
Administrative Trademark Judges.

Opinion by Wellington, Administrative Trademark Judge:

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems
Integration Inc. has filed an application to register the
mark for “situational awareness systems for use on
military vehicles comprised of cameras, a video matrix
switch, and electronic display interfaces” in International
Class 9.1

1 Application Serial No. 85396581 filed on August 12, 2011, is
based on an allegation of intent to use the mark in commerce
under Trademark Act Section 1(b).
THIS OPINION
IS NOT A PRECEDENT OF
THE TTAB
Serial No. 85396581
2
The trademark examining attorney refused registration
under Section 2(e)(1) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C.
§ 1052(e)(1), on the ground that applicant’s proposed mark,
when applied to applicant’s goods, is merely descriptive
thereof.
When the refusal was made final, applicant appealed.
Applicant and the examining attorney filed briefs.
A term is deemed to be merely descriptive of goods or
services, within the meaning of Section 2(e)(1), if it
forthwith conveys an immediate idea of an ingredient,
quality, characteristic, feature, function, purpose or use
of the goods or services. In re Bayer Aktiengesellschaft,
488 F.3d 960, 82 USPQ2d 1828 (TTAB 2007); and In re Abcor
Development, 588 F.2d 811, 200 USPQ 215, 217-18 (CCPA
1978). A term need not immediately convey an idea of each
and every specific feature of the applicant’s goods or
services in order to be considered merely descriptive;
rather, it is sufficient that the term describes one
significant attribute, function or property of the goods or
services. In re H.U.D.D.L.E., 216 USPQ 358 (TTAB 1982);
and In re MBAssociates, 180 USPQ 338 (TTAB 1973). Whether
a term is merely descriptive is determined not in the
abstract, but in relation to the goods or services for
which registration is sought, the context in which it is
Serial No. 85396581
3
being used on or in connection with the goods or services,
and the possible significance that the term would have to
the average purchaser of the goods or services because of
the manner of its use. In re Bright-Crest, Ltd., 204 USPQ
591, 593 (TTAB 1979).
Based on the evidence of record, we conclude that the
mark is merely descriptive of situational awareness
systems for use on military vehicles comprised of cameras,
a video matrix switch, and electronic display interfaces.
The word “view” is defined as “extent or range of vision.”2
The record also shows that the term “360” may be used as an
abbreviated reference to 360 degrees of vision in
connection with electronic surveillance cameras and goods
akin to, if not the same as, applicant’s identified goods.
The examining attorney has submitted several third-party
website printouts showing such use of the term. To wit,
one company, Panavision Federal Systems, LLC, describes a
contract for “ ... a full 360 degree situational awareness
camera system and fusion display” to be used in “government
and military applications.”3 Another company,
RemoteReality, touts their “New Eagle360 situational

2 Submitted with Office action dated November 9, 2011, definition
taken from online dictionary website www.merriam-webster.com.
The online dictionary is based on Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary (11th Edition).
Serial No. 85396581
4
awareness system” as a “vehicle situational awareness
system ... configured using two Eagle cameras, each with a
130-degree field of view; together two camera systems
deliver full 360-degree situation awareness of the vehicles
surroundings ... ”4 This evidence, in addition to articles
submitted by the examining attorney, establishes that a
360-degree view is clearly an attribute or key feature of
situational awareness systems whether they are used for
surveillance or military applications. Moreover, the
slight stylization in applicant’s mark, i.e., a slightly
tilted lower case “i,” hardly qualifies for purposes of
creating a separate or distinct commercial impression. See
In re Sadoru Group Ltd., 105 USPQ2d 1484 (TTAB 2012) for
discussion of significance of stylized lettering in marks.
Thus, we have no doubt that applicant’s mark, when viewed
in connection with the identified goods, will be clearly
and immediately understood as conveying that the
situational awareness system has the ability to provide a
360-degree view.
Applicant argues that “the military consumers of
situational awareness systems ... will recognize both the

3 Printout from www.panavision.com submitted with Office action
dated November 9, 2011.
4 Printout from www.remotereality.com submitted with Office
action dated November 9, 2011.
Serial No. 85396581
5
double entendre of the mark and that the term is so
vague and nebulous as to be simply suggestive of the
goods.” The record does not support this argument. There
is no evidence showing that “view 360” is a double-entendre
or otherwise possesses a secondary, non-descriptive meaning
or commercial impression apart from that of its descriptive
connotation. To the contrary, as discussed above, the
terms “360” and “view” are used descriptively in connection
with situational awareness systems used for military
purposes. We further note an article from National Defense
Magazine in which a new Humvee-mounted system is described
as being tested by the Marine Corps in the following
manner: “Instead of being a single camera, this system
combines 29 different sensor outputs and creates a picture
that would show instantly what threats might lurk ... [and]
outputs into one real-time, 360-degree ‘common operating
picture.’”5 Another article in Defense Update International
Online Defense Magazine describes a system that “provides
day/night visibility” as well as “a 360 degree situational
awareness.”6 These articles establish that “view” and “360”
are two merely descriptive terms in connection with

5 Printout of article from www.nationaldefensemagazine.com,
submitted with Office action dated June 11, 2012.
6 Printout of article from www.defense-update.com, submitted with
Office action dated June 11, 2012.

Serial No. 85396581
6
situational awareness systems for use on military vehicles.
The evidence does not support applicant’s contention that
the terms combined, as shown in applicant’s mark, lose
their descriptive significance or otherwise create a non-
descriptive meaning.
In conclusion, we find that applicant’s proposed mark
is merely descriptive because it immediately
informs prospective customers that applicant’s situational
awareness systems for military vehicles feature the ability
to provide a 360-degree view. The record further reflects
a need of competitors to use the terms “view” and “360”
together to explain their situational awareness systems’
ability to provide such an expansive field of vision.
Decision: The refusal to register is affirmed.