SeaOne Maritime Corporation

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

May 23, 2007

No. 78484627 (T.T.A.B. May. 23, 2007)

Mailed: May 23, 2007
PTH

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
________

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
________

In re SeaOne Maritime Corporation
________

Serial No. 78484627
_______

Kenneth S. Roberts and Mark J. Shean of Orrick, Herrington
& Sutcliffe LLP for SeaOne Maritime Corporation.

John S. Yard, Trademark Examining Attorney, Law Office 115
(Tomas V. Vlcek, Managing Attorney).
_______

Before Hairston, Zervas and Walsh, Administrative Trademark
Judges.

Opinion by Hairston, Administrative Trademark Judge:

An application has been filed by SeaOne Maritime
Corporation to register the mark COMPRESSED GAS LIQUID for
goods and services ultimately identified as follows:
Mixture of natural gas and liquid solvent in
International Class 4;

Supplying [a] mixture of natural gas and liquid
solvent in International Class 39; and

THIS OPINION IS NOT A
PRECEDENT OF THE TTAB
Ser No. 78484627
2
Production services producing [a] mixture of
natural gas and liquid solvent in International
Class 40.1

The trademark examining attorney has refused
registration under Section 2(e)(1) of the Trademark Act, 15
U.S.C. §1052(e)(1), on the ground that applicant’s mark,
when applied to applicant’s goods and services, is merely
descriptive of them.
When the refusal was made final, applicant appealed.
Applicant and the examining attorney have filed briefs. We
affirm the refusal.
The examining attorney argues, at p. 2 of his Final
Office Action, that: “The applicant’s goods and/or services
are literally compressed gases in a liquid or fluid form
and/or the making or supplying thereof. As such the mark
COMPRESSED GAS LIQUID is descriptive of the applicant’s
goods and/or services.” In support of the refusal, the
examining attorney made of record the following definitions
from the website http://www.rhymezone.com:
compressed gas: gas at a high pressure that can
be used as a propellant

liquid: a substance in the fluid state of matter
having no fixed shape, but a fixed volume

1 Application Serial No. 78484627, filed on September 16, 2004,
which is based on a bona fide intention to use the mark in
commerce.
Ser No. 78484627
3
In addition, the examining attorney submitted
three Internet printouts. Two of the printouts
discuss the storage and handling of compressed natural
gas in cylinders. (http://www.ehs.uci.edu) and
(http://www.northwestern.edu). The third printout
contains a discussion of “liquefied compressed gases,”
and the examining attorney points to the following
information, in particular:
What Is a Liquefied Compressed Gas?
A liquefied compressed gas can be defined as a
gas that becomes a liquid at ambient temperature
when compressed in a container. Liquefied
compressed gases can also be defined as those
gases which become liquids to a very large extent
in containers at ordinary temperatures and
pressures ranging from 25 psig to 2,500 psig.
(http://www.airgas.com)
In urging reversal of the refusal to register,
applicant argues that the mark COMPRESSED GAS LIQUID does
not have any meaning in the relevant industry, but rather
is a phrase coined by applicant to identify its proprietary
formulation of gases and solvent, and services relating
thereto. Applicant acknowledges that the individual terms
“compressed gas” and “liquid” have specific meanings in the
relevant industry. However, applicant argues that the
composite mark COMPRESSED GAS LIQUID has no specific
meaning in the relevant industry and is not merely
descriptive of its goods and services. By juxtaposing the
Ser No. 78484627
4
words GAS and LIQUID, in particular, applicant maintains
that the composite mark COMPRESSED GAS LIQUID creates a
unique commercial impression which does not immediately
identify the characteristics of its goods and services.
According to applicant, a purchaser must exercise some
level of imagination or thought to ascertain the nature of
its goods and services.
Applicant submitted the results of a “Google” search
for the term “compressed gas liquid.” The search results
show numerous uses of the individual terms “compressed gas”
and “liquid” in connection with natural gas, but not the
composite term “compressed gas liquid” in connection with
such goods. Further, applicant submitted two Internet
printouts from the homepage of the California Energy
Commission (http://www.airgas.com) which show that
“compressed natural gas” and “liquefied natural gas” are
alternative forms of natural gas used in vehicles.
Applicant argues that this evidence supports its position
that “compressed natural gas” and “liquefied (or liquid)
natural gas” are the terms commonly used to refer to forms
of natural gas.
The test for determining whether a mark is merely
descriptive is whether it immediately conveys information
concerning a quality, characteristic, function, ingredient,
Ser No. 78484627
5
attribute or feature of the goods and/or services in
connection with which it is used, or intended to be used.
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 (CCPA 1978). It is not necessary for a term to
describe all of the properties or characteristics of the
goods and/or services in order for it be considered merely
descriptive of them; rather, it is sufficient if the term
describes any significant attribute or idea about them.
Further, it is well-established that the determination of
mere descriptiveness must be made not in the abstract or on
the basis of guesswork, but in relation to the goods and/or
services for which registration is sought, the context in
which the mark is used or is intended to be used, and the
impact that it is likely to make on the average purchaser
of such goods and/or services. In re Bright-Crest, Ltd.
204 USPQ 591 (TTAB 1979); and In re Recovery, 196 USPQ 830
(TTAB 1977).
We find that the term COMPRESSED GAS LIQUID is merely
descriptive of applicant’s mixture of natural gas and
liquid solvent in that it immediately conveys, without the
need for speculation or imagination, that such mixture is
compressed gas in liquid form, i.e., COMPRESSED GAS LIQUID.
Applicant acknowledges that the terms “compressed gas” and
Ser No. 78484627
6
“liquid” have specific meanings in the relevant industry.
Indeed, “compressed gas” is defined as gas at a high
pressure, and the record shows that natural gas is
“compressed” for storage and distribution. Further,
applicant’s goods are identified as a mixture consisting
of, in part, “liquid solvent,” and the examining attorney’s
evidence demonstrates that “liquefied compressed gas” is a
“gas that becomes liquid at ambient temperature when
compressed in a container.” Purchasers and prospective
purchasers of applicant’s goods in the relevant industry,
would immediately understand from the term COMPRESSED GAS
LIQUID that applicant’s mixture of natural gas and liquid
solvent is compressed gas in liquid form. While “liquefied
(or liquid) compressed gas” may well be the more “normal”
order of the words, we find that COMPRESSED GAS LIQUID
conveys the same descriptive meaning. In other words,
juxtaposing the words GAS and LIQUID does not result in a
mark which is so incongruous or unusual as to possess no
definitive meaning or significance other than that of an
identifying mark for applicant’s goods.
Further, we find that the term COMPRESSED GAS LIQUID
is equally descriptive of applicant’s services of supplying
and producing a mixture of natural gas and liquid solvent.
It directly describes, when used in connection with such
Ser No. 78484627
7
services, that the significant characteristic or subject
matter thereof is compressed gas in liquid form.
Insofar as applicant contends that the term COMPRESSED
GAS LIQUID refers to its proprietary formulation of gases
and solvent, the fact that applicant is or intends to be
the first and/or only entity to use such term is not
dispositive, where as here, the term projects only a merely
descriptive significance in the context of applicant’s
goods and services. See In re MBAssociates, 180 USPQ 338
(TTAB 1973). Similarly, it is not necessary that a
designation be in common usage in the particular industry
in order for it to be merely descriptive. See In re
National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc., 219 USPQ 1018
(TTAB 1983). Thus, the absence on this record of any
third-party uses of the specific term COMPRESSED GAS LIQUID
does not mean that applicant is entitled to registration of
the term.
In sum, we find that the term COMPRESSED GAS LIQUID is
merely descriptive of applicant’s goods and services.
Decision: The refusal to register under Section
2(e)(1) is affirmed as to the goods and services in Classes
4, 39, and 40.