Fumi Stephanie Hancock

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

Aug 27, 2015

No. 86019118 (T.T.A.B. Aug. 27, 2015)

This Opinion is not a
Precedent of the TTAB

Mailed: August 27, 2015

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
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Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
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In re Fumi Stephanie Hancock
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Serial No. 86019118
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Matthew H. Swyers of The Trademark Company, PLLC,
for Fumi Stephanie Hancock.
April E. Reeves, Trademark Examining Attorney, Law Office 102,
Mitchell Front, Managing Attorney.
_____

Before Bucher, Kuhlke and Gorowitz,
Administrative Trademark Judges.

Opinion by Bucher, Administrative Trademark Judge:
Fumi Stephanie Hancock, a resident of Tennessee (hereinafter “Applicant”),
seeks registration on the Principal Register of the mark International Diaspora
Network (in standard character format) for
“entertainment in the nature of ongoing television
programs in the field of variety shows provided via the
Internet; entertainment services in the nature of a non-
fiction television programming series on topics relating to
family stories told by family members to preserve their
heritage provided via the Internet; entertainment services
in the nature of an ongoing IPTV (Internet Protocol
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Television), television programming segments provided
via the Internet in the field of positive psychology,
personal relationships, the art and science of happiness;
entertainment services in the nature of an ongoing reality
based television program provided via the Internet;
entertainment services, namely, an ongoing series
featuring variety program[s] provided through webcasts;
entertainment services, namely, providing ongoing
television programs in the field of lifestyle via a global
computer network; providing entertainment services in
the nature of ongoing Internet Protocol Television (IPTV),
television programming segments in the field of personal
relationships, lifestyle provided via the Internet” in
International Class 41.1
The Trademark Examining Attorney has refused registration of Applicant’s
mark on the ground that the mark is merely descriptive within the meaning of
Trademark Act Section 2(e)(1), 15 U.S.C. § 1052(e)(1). After the Trademark
Examining Attorney made the refusal final, Applicant appealed to this Board.
Descriptiveness
A term is merely descriptive if it immediately conveys knowledge of a significant
quality, characteristic, function, feature or purpose of the services it recites. See,
e.g., In re Chamber of Commerce of the U.S., 675 F.3d 1297, 102 USPQ2d 1217, 1219
(Fed. Cir. 2012); In re Gyulay, 820 F.2d 1216, 3 USPQ2d 1009, 1009 (Fed. Cir.
1987). Determining the descriptiveness of a mark is done in relation to an
applicant’s recited services, the context in which the mark is being used, and the
possible significance the mark would have to the average purchaser because of the
manner of its use or intended use. See In re Chamber of Commerce of the U.S., 102

1 Application Serial No. 86019118 was filed on July 24, 2013, based upon Applicant’s claim
of first use anywhere and use in commerce since at least as early as May 22, 2013. No claim
is made to the exclusive right to use the word “Network” apart from the mark as shown.
Serial No. 86019118
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USPQ2d at 1219, citing In re Bayer Aktiengesellschaft, 488 F.3d 960, 82 USPQ2d
1828, 1831 (Fed. Cir. 2007)). Descriptiveness of a mark is not considered in the
abstract. Id. In other words, the question is whether someone who knows what the
services are will understand the mark immediately to convey information about
them. In re MBNA America Bank N.A., 340 F.3d 1328, 67 USPQ2d 1778, 1780 (Fed.
Cir. 2003).
Applicant’s specimen of record taken from the screen-print of a YouTube entry
shows multiple pictures of Dr. Princess Fumi Hancock, also known online as the
“Princess of Suburbia,” with her “Vision Torch” program, further labeled as “An
International Diaspora Network™ Presentation”:
2
An early version of Applicant’s webpage thanks her viewer for “visiting our
network,” further described as “an Online TV Network bringing shows to our
audience, Immigrants in Diaspora, and friends of Diasporans.” (emphasis
supplied)

2 youtube.com, specimen, March 10, 2014.
Serial No. 86019118
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3
Nonetheless, Applicant argues that her proposed mark is not merely descriptive
but is, at worst, suggestive. Applicant contends that an exercise of imagination is
required to link Applicant’s International Diaspora Network mark to the services
recited in the application. Gyulay, 3 USPQ2d at 1009.
The word “Network”
As noted by the Trademark Examining Attorney, Applicant has not seriously
contested the descriptiveness of the term “Network.” As seen above, in an early
version of Applicant’s webpage she uses this term multiple times. Furthermore, in
response to the allegations of an earlier Trademark Examining Attorney that this
term was generic, Applicant amended her application with a disclaimer of the word
“Network.” This action by Applicant is consistent with a conclusion that this term
names a significant feature of Applicant’s services, namely, that her recorded
programs are transmitted over an online television network.

3 internationaldiasporanetwork, submitted by Applicant on July 14, 2014.
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Turning then to the words “International” and “Diaspora,” in the initial Office
Action, an earlier Trademark Examining Attorney offered for the record entries
from the Collins English Dictionary (collinsdictionary.com) defining the words
“International,” “Diaspora” and “Network.” However, we disregard all of these
definitions from the Collins dictionary taken from the “English,” rather than the
“American English” database.
The word “International”
The Trademark Examining Attorney submitted third-party registrations
covering television programs and broadcasting services, containing allegations of
use in commerce, which composite marks contain the word “International”:
IBAVI INTERNATIONAL BELIEFS AND VALUES INSTITUTE4
INTERNATIONAL HOMES AND GARDENS5
6
7

KINGSWAY
INTERNATIONAL
CHRISTIAN
CENTRE8
9
INTERNATIONAL
FASHION FILM
AWARDS10

4 Registration No. 3279473 issued on August 14, 2007; Section 8 affidavit accepted and
Section 15 affidavit acknowledged. No claim is made to the exclusive right to use the phrase
“International Beliefs and Values Institute” apart from the mark as shown.
5 Registration No. 3383620 issued on the Supplemental Register on February 12, 2008;
Section 8 affidavit accepted.
6 Registration No. 3253765 issued on June 19, 2007; Section 8 affidavit accepted and
Section 15 affidavit acknowledged. No claim is made to the exclusive right to use the word
“International” apart from the mark as shown.
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We have also judicially noticed the following dictionary definition:
International adjective
1. between or among nations: an international treaty
2. concerned with the relations between nations: an international court
3.
4. for the use of all nations: international waters
5. of, for, or by people in various nations
6. of or having to do with activities or operations carried on in countries other than
the home country: international sales11

Focusing on entries like “for the use of all nations” or “of, for, or by people in
various nations,” here in Applicant’s composite mark as well as in connection with
the third-party marks listed above, the term “International” in the field of TV
programs and other broadcasting services refers to the scope of the entertainment
services, i.e., provided online internationally, as well as the scope of the subject
matter of the services, i.e., programs about people from all over the world.
The word “Diaspora”
Applicant and the Trademark Examining Attorney later provided dictionary
definitions for the word “diaspora,” and the Trademark Examining Attorney
provided a Wikipedia entry for the word “diaspora”:

7 Registration No. 4558111 issued on July 1, 2014. No claim is made to the exclusive right
to use the term “Supergroup International” apart from the mark as shown.
8 Registration No. 3385656 issued on February 19, 2008; Partial Section 71 affidavit
accepted and Section 15 affidavit acknowledged. No claim is made to the exclusive right to
use the phrase “International Christian Centre” apart from the mark as shown.
9 Registration No. 4093248 issued on January 31, 2012. No claim is made to the exclusive
right to use the word “Internacional” apart from the mark as shown.
10 Registration No. 4540936 issued on the Supplemental Register on May 27, 2014.
11 WEBSTER’S NEW WORLD COLLEGE DICTIONARY, yourdictionary.com.
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diaspora
a group of people who live outside the area in which they had lived for a long time or in which
their ancestors lived
1 capitalized
a : the settling of scattered colonies of Jews outside Palestine after the Babylonian exile
b : the area outside Palestine settled by Jews
c : the Jews living outside Palestine or modern Israel
2 a : the movement, migration, or scattering of a people away from an established or ancestral
homeland
b : people settled far from their ancestral homelands 12
c : the place where these people live

A diaspora (from Greek διασπορά, “scattering, dispersion”) is a scattered population with a
common origin in a smaller geographic locale. Diaspora can also refer to the movement of
the population from its original homeland… 13

Again, the sense of the scattering of a people away from their ancestral
homeland is seen in Applicant’s own usage of this term to describe the subject
matter of her entertainment services.
The term “International Diaspora”
Based on the foregoing, we find that the individual terms “International” and
“Diaspora” are merely descriptive of Applicant’s services. Hence, the next question
we must determine is whether, when these two terms are combined, they create a
new, unique or inventive commercial impression or incongruous meaning that

12 merriam-webster, as proffered by Applicant on July 14, 2014; and by the Trademark
Examining Attorney on August 14, 2014.
13 wikipedia.org, The Board gives guarded consideration to evidence taken from Wikipedia,
bearing in mind the limitations inherent in this reference work, so long as the non-offering
party has an opportunity to rebut the evidence by submitting other evidence that may call
its accuracy into question. See In re IP Carrier Consulting Group, 84 USPQ2d 1028, 1032
(TTAB 2007). In the case before us, the Wikipedia evidence was submitted with the
Examining Attorney’s Office Action of August 14, 2014, and Applicant had an opportunity
to rebut it in her response to an Office Action of January 15, 2015.
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requires mental gymnastics to understand information about the services. In re
MBNA America Bank N.A., 67 USPQ2d at 1780.
The Trademark Examining Attorney provided for the record pages from a
number of websites showing that the two words “International Diaspora” are
combined in an identical fashion by a number of other unrelated organizations:

The dispersal of the Irish throughout the world and their contribution to the
economies and cultures of those lands is one of the defining elements of our
nation’s past and present. Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company has a vision is to
create a world-class Irish-International Diaspora Centre where culture,
entertainment and technology combine in celebration and commemoration of
the achievements and experiences of the 70 million Irish Diaspora … . 14

The International Diaspora Youth Leadership Conference
The International Diaspora Youth Leadership Conference brings together future leaders from 26
countries representing youth from five continents for universities, business, government, NGOs,
education and the cultural sector for a unique two-day experience aimed at broadening their
perspectives on … 15

16

14 irishinternationaldiasporacentre.ie.
15linkedin.com, as accessed by the Trademark Examining Attorney on April 25, 2014.
16 diasporaalliance.org, accessed by the Trademark Examining Attorney on April 25, 2014.
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Interestingly, IdEA describes itself as “[e]ngaging diasporas in development and
diplomacy,” including by connecting “diaspora members to business competitions
such as the African Diaspora Marketplace.”17 The discussion about the word
“Diaspora” on this website corroborates the dictionary entries provided earlier, and
stresses technology and communications:
What is a Diaspora?
Diaspora means “to scatter” in Greek, but today we use the term to describe a community of people who live
outside their shared country of origin or ancestry but maintain active connections with it. A diaspora includes
both emigrants and their descendants. While some people lose their attachment to their ancestral homeland,
others maintain a strong connection to a place which their ancestors may have left generations ago. Many
Americans come from mixed heritage and therefore can claim membership in multiple diaspora communities.
Many diaspora groups are working to achieve greater impact and a stronger voice in matters that relate to
their countries of origin. Diaspora communities make vital but often unrecognized contributions to the
progress of their countries of heritage. They share goals with governments, businesses, and NGOs, including:
• Broad-based economic growth;
• Thriving civil society;
• Widespread participation in good governance;
• Access to global markets for skills and financial capital;
• Robust trading partnerships;
• Growing participation in science, technology and communication innovations.
The Opportunity
Over the last 45 years, the number of people living outside their country of origin has almost tripled – from
76 million to more than 232 million. More than 3 percent of the world’s population now lives outside of the
country that they were born in; if migrants made up a single nation, they would be the 5th largest in the
world.
Migration is the defining trend of our world today. Yet even as people spread father apart, technological
advances have created low-cost means of communication and transportation that bind them more closely
together. As The Economist notes in their article “Weaving the World Together” diasporas are now connected
“instantaneously, continuously, dynamically and intimately to their communities of origin.” And as Diasporas
grow, their networks expand and intertwine, linking the world together; “No other social networks offer the
same global reach—or commercial opportunity.”
The United States has the largest number of global diasporas members of any country in the world; more
than 62 million people are first or second generation immigrants. Indeed, virtually all Americans have
immigrant roots – and these roots are a quintessential part of our national narrative. The diplomatic and
developmental potential influence of diasporas is tremendous. 18

17 Id.
18 Id., accessed by the Trademark Examining Attorney on April 25, 2014.
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Furthermore, much as in Applicant’s case where the term “International
Diaspora” modifies the noun “Network,” in these third-party instances the words
“International Diaspora,” in a parallel fashion, modify other nouns such as “Centre,”
“Conference” and “Alliance.”
The term “International Network”
In the context of combining words that each individually immediately convey
information about the involved services, the Trademark Examining Attorney has
also submitted for the record third-party registrations showing how the words
“International” and “Network” appearing in various forms within the same mark
have been treated in third-party registrations covering similar services:
WORLD
INTERNATIONAL
NETWORK
for “production and distribution of television
programs” in International Class 41;19
for “production and distribution of television
programs” in International Class 41;20

19 Registration No. 1554140 issued on August 29, 1989; renewed. No claim is made to the
exclusive right to use the words “International Network” apart from the mark as shown.
20 Registration No. 1598959 issued on May 29, 1990; renewed. No claim is made to the
exclusive right to use the words “International Network” apart from the mark as shown.
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for “entertainment services, namely, providing a
radio program in the field of religion via a global
computer network” in International Class 41;21
INTERNATIONAL
ORALITY NETWORK
for, inter alia, “educational services, namely,
conducting classes, seminars, conferences and
workshops in the field of religion and storytelling
regarding the Bible, religious and cultural issues,
values and themes; arranging, organizing and
conducting seminars and conferences and speaking
engagements in the field of religion and story
telling regarding the Bible, religious and cultural
issues, values, and themes” in International Class
41;22 and
for “entertainment, namely, a continuing
international Christian show broadcast over radio”
in International Class 41.23

The Phrase “International Diaspora Network”
We agree with the Trademark Examining Attorney that the dictionary entries,
websites and third-party registrations made part of this record demonstrate that
the composite term “International Diaspora Network” combines three merely
descriptive words, and that the resulting designation International Diaspora Network

21 Registration No. 3025842 issued on December 13, 2005; Section 8 affidavit accepted and
Section 15 affidavit acknowledged. No claim is made to the exclusive right to use the word
“International” apart from the mark as shown.
22 Registration No. 3459685 issued on July 1, 2008; Section 8 affidavit accepted and Section
15 affidavit acknowledged. No claim is made to the exclusive right to use the words
“International” and “Network” apart from the mark as shown.
23 Registration No. 4426253 issued on October 29, 2013. No claim is made to the exclusive
right to use the words “Radio Network International” apart from the mark as shown.
Serial No. 86019118
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is equally descriptive. Someone who knows what the services are, upon
encountering this term, will immediately understand that Applicant’s nascent
online TV network is directed toward and about diasporans from around the world.
Finally, although Applicant cites to the line of cases turning on the presence of
double entendres, Applicant has failed to explain how the case at bar involves any
such word play. See, e.g., In re Colonial Stores Inc., 157 USPQ at 385 (SUGAR &
SPICE a double entendre for bakery products); In re Nat’l Tea Co., 144 USPQ 286
(TTAB 1965) (NO BONES ABOUT IT a double entendre for fresh pre-cooked ham).
In reaching this conclusion, we have considered Applicant’s conclusory
statement that International Diaspora Network does not immediately convey
information about her recited services. We are not persuaded by this argument, and
based on all the evidence of record, have difficulty understanding the logic of her
denial of mere descriptiveness.
Decision: The refusal to register Applicant’s mark International Diaspora Network
under Section 2(e)(1) of the Lanham Act is hereby affirmed.