Flight Travel, Inc.

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

Jan 25, 2013

No. 85149936 (T.T.A.B. Jan. 25, 2013)

Mailed:
January 25, 2013

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
________

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
________

In re Flight Travel, Inc.
________

Serial No. 85149936
_______

Ellen S. Simpson of Simpson & Simpson, for Flight Travel,
Inc.

Eugenia K. Martin, Trademark Examining Attorney, Law Office
114 (K Margaret Le, Managing Attorney).
_______

Before Seeherman, Ritchie, and Adlin, Administrative
Trademark Judges.

Opinion by Ritchie, Administrative Trademark Judge:

Flight Travel, Inc., applicant herein (“applicant”),
seeks registration on the Principal Register of the mark
“JITS,”1 in standard character format, for goods and
services identified as follows:

1 Serial No. 85149936, filed on October 11, 2010, under Section
1(b) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1051(b) in all classes,
expressing a bona fide intent to use in commerce.
THIS OPINION IS NOT A
PRECEDENT OF THE TTAB
Ser. No. 85149936
2
International Class 16: Magazines featuring lifestyle and
culture content related to martial arts and general sports;

International Class 18: Sports bags; backpacks; athletic
bags; messenger bags; knapsacks; carry-all bags; satchels;
sling bags; travel bags;

International Class 21: Sports bottles sold empty; plastic
water bottles sold empty;

International Class 25: Martial arts uniforms, namely, gis;

International Class 41: Operating of sports gyms; operating
of martial arts gyms; organizing sporting events, namely
competition and entertainment demonstrations.

The trademark examining attorney refused registration
on the ground that applicant’s mark is merely descriptive
of the identified goods and services under Trademark Act
Section 2(e)(1), 15 U.S.C. §1052(e)(1). The examining
attorney further made final a requirement for an amended
identification of the services in International Class 41
pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 2.71(a) because the “wording refers
to services that are not within the scope of the
identification that was set forth in the application at the
time of filing.”
Both applicant and the examining attorney filed
briefs.
Descriptiveness
A term is deemed to be merely descriptive of goods or
services, within the meaning of Section 2(e)(1), if it
Ser. No. 85149936
3
forthwith conveys an immediate idea of an ingredient,
quality, characteristic, feature, function, purpose or use
of the goods or services. See, e.g., In re Gyulay, 820
F.2d 1216, 3 USPQ2d 1009 (Fed. Cir. 1987); and In re Abcor
Development Corp., 588 F.2d 811, 200 USPQ 215, 217-18 (CCPA
1978). 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 being used on or in connection with those 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. That a term may
have other meanings in different contexts is not
controlling. In re Bright-Crest, Ltd., 204 USPQ 591, 593
(TTAB 1979).
The examining attorney argues that the term “jits” is
descriptive of a feature of the goods and services in the
application, in that it refers to a common area of martial
arts, specifically, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
In support of this argument, the examining attorney
submitted the following definition from Urban Dictionary2:
“Jits”: 1. “Slang word for the martial art of
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Also can refer to no-gi

2 Both applicant and the examining attorney submitted definitions
from Urban Dictionary, and both included this one.
Ser. No. 85149936
4
submission grappling.” “Joe and Eddie wrestle
jits together.” “He used some nasty jits right
there.” www.urbandictionary.com.

The examining attorney further submitted evidence
showing third party use of the term “jits” to describe
things associated with the martial art form of Brazilian
Jiu Jitsu. Some examples include the following:

The Jits Name
The reasoning for the name Jits is simple; it is
a word that is short, descriptive, and easy to
remember. It also happens to be a widely used
slang term for the ‘Arte Suave,” Brazilian Jiu
Jitsu. http://jitsmagazine.com.
Attached to July 22, 2011 Office Action, p.9.

The Daily Jits, The Journey of a Brazilian Jiu
Jitsu White Belt: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu – Follow me
along on my journey from white belt to blue belt
in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
http://brazilian-jiu-jitsu-journey.blogspot.com.
Attached to January 20, 2011 Office Action, p.7.

Got Jits? Perspectives from a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Blue Belt.
http://blog.gotjits.com. Attached to January 20,
2011 Office Action, p12.

Nice jits!: I move that we all collectively ban
the use of the word “jits.” I’m not saying I’ve
never used it before, but I’ve now decided that I
don’t like it (particularly when it’s spelled
“jitz”). It sounds too much like other words,
especially when you say it to outsiders. They’re
like “What did you say about zits?” or even
worse, “Did you just say t . . .?”

Ser. No. 85149936
5
I know there’s a desire to shorten things these
days, and jiu-jitsu seems like it takes sooooo
long to say, but we need a better alternative I
don’t mind “bjj” or “jj” (heck, that’s even what
I named my puppy). Personally, I’ve taken to
referring to it as “jitsu.” It’s only one more
letter and syllable, but sounds much better to
me. www.thejiujitsufighter.com. Attached to
January 20, 2011 Office Action, p. 17.

Jujitsu Forums: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Grappling,
MMA, No Holds Barred:
Should I be taking anything for jits?: I weigh
around 200 with muscle/fat, I would like to know
if there is anything I should be taking? Since I
waste a lot of energy grappling for 1-2 hours I
would like to take something that would either
help me burn fat, gain muscle or lean out. Does
anyone have any good suggestions for something
that had a awesome effect while taking jiu jitsu?
jiujitsuforums.com. Attached to January 20, 2011
Office Action, p. 32.

Georgette’s Jiu Jitsu World: During last night’s
class, we also covered an unusual ankle lock
defense, and in chatting about it with my partner
Zack, we kind of mentioned two ways of learning
jits.
http://georgetteoden.blogspot.com. Attached to
January 20, 2011 Office Action, p. 40.

See also following image, from freetechie.com. Attached to
January 20, 2011 Office Action, p. 29:

Ser. No. 85149936
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Applicant does not dispute that the goods and services
in the application refer to martial arts, of which
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a popular form. Rather, applicant
argues that the term “jits” has other meanings and acronym
definitions, as noted, for example, in Urban Dictionary,
and contained in evidence submitted by applicant. We do
not find these to be availing. As stated above, in
determining whether an applied-for mark is merely
descriptive, we must not look at the term in a vacuum, but
in the context of the goods and services in the
application. In re Bright-Crest, Ltd., 204 USPQ at 593.

Ser. No. 85149936
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We have no doubt that a consumer would understand
“jits,” used in connection with applicant's goods and
services, as directly conveying information about them,
namely, in the case of the Class 16 and 41 goods and
services, that Brazilian Jui Jitsu is the subject matter,
respectively, of the magazines, and the gyms and
demonstrations operated or organized by applicant, and in
the case of the Class 18, 21 and 25 goods, that these items
are for use in practicing the sport of Brazilian Jui Jitsu.
See In re Tower Tech Inc., 64 USPQ2d at 1316-17; see also
In re Conductive Services, Inc., 220 USPQ 84, 86 (TTAB
1983). Therefore, we find that the mark is merely
descriptive of the identified goods and services, and we
affirm this refusal to register.
Identification of Goods
The examining attorney additionally made final a
requirement to amend the identification of the services in
International Class 41 pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 2.71(a)
because the “wording refers to services that are not within
the scope of the identification that was set forth in the
application at the time of filing.”

Ser. No. 85149936
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A. Background
Applicant’s original identification of services in
International Class 41, as filed in its application dated
October 11, 2010, was as follows:
Operating of sports gyms; operating of martial
arts gyms; organizing sporting events, namely,
martial arts events.

The examining attorney issued an Office Action on January
20, 2011, requiring an amendment to this identification,
stating that it was indefinite and must be clarified to
specify the type of “martial arts events,” such as
competitions or entertainment demonstrations, and citing
TMEP § 1402.01. The January 20, 2011 Office Action noted
that applicant could adopt the following identification,
“if accurate”:
Operating of sports gyms; operating of martial
arts gyms; organizing sporting events, namely,
martial arts events, namely, (identify the
specific event, such as competitions).

Applicant responded with an amendment via its June 3, 2011
Response to Office Action, as follows:
Operating of sports gyms; operating of martial
arts gyms; organizing sporting events, namely
competition and entertainment demonstrations.

The examining attorney then issued a Final Office Action on
July 22, 2011, again requiring an amendment to this
Ser. No. 85149936
9
identification, and stating that applicant could substitute
the following wording, “if accurate”:
Operating of sports gyms; operating of martial
arts gyms; organizing sporting events, namely,
competition and entertainment demonstrations in
the field of martial arts.

Applicant did not respond to amend its identification of
services, but rather filed this appeal.
B. Analysis
The applicable rule reads as follows: “The applicant
may amend the application to clarify or limit, but not to
broaden, the identification of goods....” Trademark Rule
2.71(a). Further, it is the policy of the USPTO that an
unacceptable amendment is not construed to restrict or
narrow a previous amendment. Rather, the last acceptable
amendment remains operative unless and until a further
acceptable amendment is entered. Trademark Manual of
Examining Procedure (TMEP) § 1402.07(d) (5th ed. 2007).
In this case, although there was never an accepted recital
of services in Class 41, nevertheless, applicant may not
extend the scope of the services as identified in the
original application.
The original identification by applicant identified
“operating of sports gyms; operating of martial arts gyms;
organizing sporting events, namely, martial arts events.”
Ser. No. 85149936
10
The examining attorney noted that this is unacceptably
broad, and had to be re-defined to specify a type of
martial arts events, either in the nature of competitions
or entertainment. The amendment proffered by applicant
identifies: “operating of sports gyms; operating of martial
arts gyms; organizing sporting events, namely competition
and entertainment demonstrations.” This is broader than
applicant’s original identification since, although
applicant adopts the terms “competition” and
“entertainment” as suggested by the examining attorney,
rather than being limited to “martial arts” as in the
original identification, in the amendment as submitted,
these terms refer to “sporting events” generally.
Accordingly, the identification as amended by applicant
would encompass competitions and entertainment
demonstrations in any sporting events at all, and is not
limited to martial arts. Because the original
identification did not include the organizing of sporting
events other than those involving martial arts, we find the
amendment to constitute a broadening beyond the scope of
the original identification.3

3 We note that it may well have been useful for applicant and the
examining attorney to have a telephone call to work out the
wording of the identification.
Ser. No. 85149936
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We conclude that applicant’s current identification of
services in International Class 41 is unacceptable as being
beyond the scope of the original identification of
services. Accordingly, we affirm this requirement.
Conclusion
We affirm the refusal to register based on Section
2(e)(1) for the goods and services in all five classes. We
also affirm the requirement for an amended identification
of services in International Class 41.
Decision: The refusal to register under Trademark Act
Section 2(e)(1) is affirmed, as is the requirement for an
amended identification of services in International Class
41.