Faronics Corporation

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

Jun 16, 2017

No. 86747327 (T.T.A.B. Jun. 16, 2017)

This Opinion is not a
Precedent of the TTAB

Mailed: June 16, 2017

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
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In re Faronics Corporation
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Serial No. 86747327
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Ellen M. Bierman of Lowe Graham Jones PLLC for Faronics Corporation.

Brent M. Radcliff, Trademark Examining Attorney, Law Office 123,
Susan Hayash, Managing Attorney.
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Before Wellington, Kuczma and Gorowitz,
Administrative Trademark Judges.

Opinion by Wellington, Administrative Trademark Judge:
Faronics (“Applicant”) seeks registration on the Principal Register of the standard
character mark CAMPUS AFFAIRS for:
Computer services, namely, providing custom mobile applications to
facilitate engagement of students, future students, faculty, and alumni by
publishing dynamic content relating to an academic institution on mobile
devices in International Class 42.1

1 Application Serial No. 86747327, filed on September 3, 2015, is based on Applicant’s
allegation of first use anywhere and in commerce on August 19, 2015, pursuant to Section
1(a) of the Trademark Act.
Serial No. 86747327
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The Examining Attorney has refused registration of Applicant’s the mark on the
ground that it is merely descriptive of Applicant’s services and, accordingly, must be
refused registration under Section 2(e)(1) of the Trademark Act (“the Act”), 15 U.S.C.
§ 1052(e)(1).
After the Trademark Examining Attorney made the refusal final, Applicant
appealed to this Board. Applicant and the Examining Attorney have filed appeal
briefs. For the reasons given in this decision, we affirm the refusal to register.
A mark is deemed to be merely descriptive, within the meaning of Section 2(e)(1),
if it immediately conveys knowledge of a quality, feature, function, characteristic or
purpose of the goods or services for which it is used. In re Bayer Aktiengesellschaft,
488 F.3d 960, 82 USPQ2d 1828, 1831 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (citing In re Gyulay, 820 F.2d
1216, 3 USPQ2d 1009 (Fed. Cir. 1987)); In re Abcor Dev. Corp., 588 F.2d 811, 200
USPQ 215, 217-18 (CCPA 1978).
When two or more merely descriptive terms are combined, the determination of
whether the composite mark also has a merely descriptive significance turns on
whether the combination of terms evokes a new and unique commercial impression.
If each component retains its merely descriptive significance in relation to the
services, the combination results in a composite that is itself merely descriptive. See
e.g., In re Oppedahl & Larson LLP, 373 F.3d 1171, 71 USPQ2d 1370 (Fed. Cir. 2004)
(PATENTS.COM merely descriptive of computer software for managing a database
of records that could include patents, and for tracking the status of the records by
means of the Internet); In re Petroglyph Games, Inc., 91 USPQ2d 1332 (TTAB 2009)
Serial No. 86747327
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(BATTLECAM merely descriptive for computer game software); In re Carlson, 91
USPQ2d 1198 (TTAB 2009) (URBANHOUZING merely descriptive of real estate
brokerage, real estate consultation and real estate listing services); In re Tower Tech,
64 USPQ2d at 1314 (SMARTTOWER merely descriptive of commercial and industrial
cooling towers); In re Sun Microsystems Inc., 59 USPQ2d 1084 (TTAB 2001)
(AGENTBEANS merely descriptive of computer programs for use in developing and
deploying application programs); In re Putman Publishing Co., 39 USPQ2d 2021
(TTAB 1996) (FOOD & BEVERAGE ONLINE merely descriptive of news and
information services in the food processing industry).
In support of the refusal, the Examining Attorney relies on the dictionary
definition for “Campus,” defining the term as “the grounds and buildings of an
institution, especially a college or other institution of learning, a hospital, or a
corporation.”2 He also requested in his brief that the Board take judicial notice of the
following dictionary definition: “Affairs: n. commercial, professional, public, or
personal business.”3 With the Office Actions, he attached various Internet printouts

2 Definition attached to December 17, 2017 Office Action. TSDR p. 4. All references to TSDR
citations are to documents in .pdf format.

3 4 TTABVUE 6-7. Definition taken from The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary,
Eleventh Edition © 2017 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated (electronic version). The Board
may take judicial notice of dictionary definitions, Univ. of Notre Dame du Lac v. J.C.
Gourmet Food Imp. Co., 213 USPQ 594 (TTAB 1982), aff'd, 703 F.2d 1372, 217 USPQ 505
(Fed. Cir. 1983), including online dictionaries that exist in printed format or regular fixed
editions. In re Red Bull GmbH, 78 USPQ2d 1375, 1377 (TTAB 2006). We agree to take
judicial notice of this definition; however, we also hasten to add that we would come to
same ultimate conclusion in this appeal even if we declined to consider this definition.
Serial No. 86747327
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showing use of the term “Campus Affairs” in connection with college campuses; the
following are excerpts:
• Oregon State University website describing “Director of Campus Affairs”
individual who describes position, “As Director of Campus Affairs, my main job
is to better the Oregon State experience for all members of our community.
Included in my responsibilities are: encouraging student engagement on
university committees and organizations; fostering interconnectedness across
campus and student organizations …”;4

• Baruch College newspaper website with article highlighting “New VP of
Campus Affairs Appointed” with a description of the position “must be able to
plan, coordinate and successfully execute events … in order to come up with a
feasible, strategic game plan to improve the facilities on campus”;5

• University of Maryland website describing a “Campus Affairs Committee” that
“oversees the policies, concerns, and issues that affect the entire campus”;6

• Philanthropy News Digest website advertising a job posting for an “Assistant
Director of Campus Affairs” position that is described as “developing and
implementing … master plan for enhancing the image of Israel on university
campuses, combatting anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism on campus …”7 and

• Carnegie Mellon University website describing a “Campus Affairs Committee”
that “advocates for graduate student interests on the … campus.”8

In addition, the Examining Attorney relies on Applicant’s own advertisements
that were submitted as specimens of use with the application. The following is an
excerpt:9

4 December 17, 2015 Office Action. TSDR p. 32.
5 Id. at p. 36.
6 Id. at p. 38.
7 Office Action issued on July 13, 2016. TSDR p. 6.
8 Id. at p. 13.
9 Specimen attached to application.
Serial No. 86747327
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[The subcategories of information listed in this specimen under the title of “Features
… All your institute’s information, in one mobile app” are “News Bytes, Notification
Alerts, Events, Courses, Staff, Brochure and Contact.”]

The evidence of record establishes that the combined term CAMPUS AFFAIRS is
merely descriptive of Applicant’s services. Based on the defined meanings of the
terms “campus” and “affairs,” as well as the third party use of the combined use of
the terms, consumers encountering CAMPUS AFFAIRS in connection with
Applicant’s custom mobile application services, namely, services to help facilitate the
“engagement of students, future students, faculty, and alumni by publishing dynamic
content relating to an academic institution on mobile devices,” will immediately
understand the term to merely describe a feature or the subject matter of the services.
That is, CAMPUS AFFAIRS is a term used and readily understood by those in a
Serial No. 86747327
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collegiate atmosphere to describe activities or issues on a college campus. Indeed, as
the evidence shows, the term is used to describe a department or office on college
campuses whose mission serves the same purpose or subject matter as Applicant’s
services, namely, coordinating information and events on the campus. Thus no
imagination or thought is required by the consumer to discern the descriptive nature
of CAMPUS AFFAIRS in the context of the recited services.
Applicant argues that the two terms, individually, have various possible meanings
and, when viewed as a whole, could be understood differently. Applicant posits its
mark “has a distinctive alternative meaning when applied to [its] services,
specifically an illicit relationship occurring on a college campus.”10 We disagree that
consumers are likely to understand the mark in this manner given the context of
Applicant’s services. Applicant has not presented any evidence to suggest that the
compound term CAMPUS AFFAIRS creates such a double entendre.
Applicant is correct that “any doubts as to descriptiveness must be resolved in the
Applicant’s favor.”11 However, we have no doubt and find consumers will have no
trouble understanding CAMPUS AFFAIRS as merely describing the purpose or
subject matter of custom mobile application services that facilitate engagement of
students, future students, faculty, and alumni by publishing dynamic content
relating to an academic institution on mobile devices.
Decision: The refusal to register Applicant’s mark is affirmed.

10 1 TTABVUE 13.
11 Id.