YourCareUniverse, Inc.

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

Aug 17, 2016

No. 86505916 (T.T.A.B. Aug. 17, 2016)

This Opinion is not a
Precedent of the TTAB

Mailed: August 17, 2016

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
_____

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
_____

In re YourCareUniverse, Inc.
_____

Serial No. 86505916
_____

Angela Holt of Loeb & Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP
for YourCareUniverse, Inc.
Mark Sparacino, Trademark Examining Attorney, Law Office 103,
Michael Hamilton, Managing Attorney.
_____

Before Quinn, Kuczma, and Gorowitz,
Administrative Trademark Judges.

Opinion by Gorowitz, Administrative Trademark Judge:
YourCareUniverse, Inc. (“Applicant”) seeks registration on the Principal Register
of the mark YOURCARE in standard characters for, as amended:
“Providing temporary use of on-line non-downloadable
cloud computing software for use in the healthcare field,
namely, software for managing, storing, analyzing,
maintaining, processing, structuring, reviewing, building,
editing, distributing, communicating, organizing, sharing,
referencing, monitoring and integrating healthcare
Serial No. 86505916

- 2 -
information for healthcare providers, patients, and
customer[s]” in Class 42.1
The Trademark Examining Attorney refused registration of Applicant’s mark
under Section 2(e)(1) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. §1052(e)(1), on the ground that
Applicant’s mark is merely descriptive of Applicant’s services. When the refusal was
made final, Applicant appealed and requested reconsideration. After the Examining
Attorney denied the request for reconsideration, the appeal was resumed. We affirm
the refusal to register.
I. Discussion.
A mark is 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
Chamber of Commerce of the U.S., 675 F.3d 1297, 102 USPQ2d 1217, 1219 (Fed. Cir.
2012); see also, In re Gyulay, 820 F.2d 1216, 3 USPQ2d 1009 (Fed. Cir. 1987). Whether
a mark is merely descriptive is determined in relation to the goods or services for
which registration is sought and the context in which the mark is used, not in the
abstract or on the basis of guesswork. In re Abcor Dev. Corp., 588 F.2d 811, 200 USPQ
215, 218 (CCPA 1978); In re Remacle, 66 USPQ2d 1222, 1224 (TTAB 2002). In other
words, we evaluate whether someone who knows what the goods or services are will
understand the mark to convey information about them. DuoProSS Meditech Corp.
v. Inviro Med. Devices Ltd., 695 F.3d 1247, 103 USPQ2d 1753, 1757 (Fed. Cir. 2012).

1 Application Serial No. 86505916 was filed on January 16, 2015, based upon Applicant’s
allegation of a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce under Section 1(b) of the
Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1051(b).
Serial No. 86505916

- 3 -
A mark need not immediately convey an idea of each and every specific feature of the
goods or services in order to be considered merely descriptive; it is enough if it
describes one significant attribute, function or property of the goods or services. See
In re Gyulay, 3 USPQ2d at 1010; In re H.U.D.D.L.E., 216 USPQ 358 (TTAB 1982); In
re MBAssociates, 180 USPQ 338 (TTAB 1973). The determination that a mark is
merely descriptive is a finding of fact and must be based upon substantial evidence.
In re Bayer Aktiengesellschaft, 488 F.3d 960, 82 USPQ2d 1828, 1831 (Fed. Cir. 2007).
It is the Examining Attorney's burden to show, prima facie, that a mark is merely
descriptive of an applicant’s goods or services. In re Gyulay, 3 USPQ2d at 1010; In re
Accelerate s.a.l., 101 USPQ2d 2047, 2052 (TTAB 2012).
Applicant’s services are “cloud computing software for use in the healthcare field,2
for healthcare providers, patients, and customers”. The Examining Attorney must
establish that YOURCARE (or YOUR CARE) describes one (or more) significant
attribute, function or property of these services. We find that the Examining Attorney
has met this burden.
The Examining Attorney submitted a dictionary definition of the word “care” to
establish that “care” is descriptive of an attribute and function of Applicant’s services.
As defined in the American English version of the Oxford Dictionaries “care” is “the
provision of what is necessary for the health, welfare, maintenance, and protection of

2 The specific uses of the software are “managing, storing, analyzing, maintaining,
processing, structuring, reviewing, building, editing, distributing, communicating,
organizing, sharing, referencing, monitoring and integrating healthcare information.” For
the sake of brevity, we will refer to the specific uses as “dealing with healthcare
information.”
Serial No. 86505916

- 4 -
someone or something … health care.”3 The Examining Attorney also submitted
fourteen registrations for marks containing the word CARE in which CARE is
disclaimed. See, for example:

Reg. No. 4002633 – CARE ELSEWHERE
Services: Computer software for use in medical and
healthcare fields, namely, computer software for
managing, acquiring, storing, analyzing, maintaining,
processing, structuring, reviewing, building, editing,
distributing, communicating, organizing, sharing,
referencing, monitoring and integrating information, and
accompanying manuals sold as a unit; computer software
for automating clinical and administrative healthcare
processes;

Reg. No. 3693510 – CARE VISIBILITY
Services: Computer software for managing workflow,
resource utilization, and patient care in a health care
setting;

Reg. No. 3611361 – ANTHEM CARE COMPARISON
Services: Providing an online tool, namely, providing
temporary use of non-downloadable software that provides
consumers with information about costs for various
medical procedures;

Reg. No. 3686032 – CARE OPPORTUNITIES
Services: Application service provider, namely, providing,
hosting, managing, developing, and maintaining a web-
based application, web sites and databases that link
medical information with medical claims data and the
applicable standards of care, to provide clinical decision
support for chronic medical conditions electronically;
providing electronic clinical decision support, namely,
providing a website featuring on-line non-downloadable
software tools for making medical care decisions based on
medical information, medical claims data, and standards

3 Definition attached to denial of request for reconsideration dated December 18, 2015
(TSDR p.12); www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/americanenglish/care#CARE.
Serial No. 86505916

- 5 -
of care, designed to assist health professionals with
decision making tasks; and

Reg. No. 4240990 – EZ CARE
Services: Computer software for facilitating case
management, disease management, and utilization
management in healthcare industry.

These registrations reflect that the word “CARE” is considered descriptive by the
USPTO when used in connection with software for healthcare related services. Third-
party registrations can be used to demonstrate that a term may have a commonly
accepted meaning. “Such third party registrations show the sense in which the word
is used in ordinary parlance and may show that a particular term has descriptive
significance as applied to certain goods or services.” Institut National Des
Appellations D'Origine v. Vintners International Co., 958 F.2d 1574, 22 USPQ2d
1190, 1196 (Fed. Cir. 1992). See also In re Box Solutions Corp., 79 USPQ2d 1953,
1955 (TTAB 2006) (“Third-party registrations can be used in the manner of a
dictionary definition to illustrate how a term is perceived in the trade or industry.”);
Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure (TMEP) §§ 1213 and 1213.03(a) (April
2016) (disclaimers are required of unregistrable components, e.g., a merely
descriptive term).
Accordingly, since Applicant’s services consist of “cloud computing software for
use in dealing with healthcare information,” the word “care” describes a significant
attribute of the services.
We look next at the additional element in Applicant’s mark, the preface “YOUR,”
to determine whether it affects the descriptive nature of the mark. Applicant argues
Serial No. 86505916

- 6 -
that the Board should only rule the word YOUR to be descriptive if the services
authorized by an applicant are personalized or customized and unique. See Appeal
Brief, 10 TTABVUE 7.
Applicant further argues that
Applicant does not provide ‘personaliz[ed],’ ‘customized,
[or] unique’ services to its customers. Applicant’s services
are cloud-based computer software services, and those
services do not focus on personal ownership or
customization for individuals. Thus, to understand
Applicant’s mark, consumers have to make a mental leap
between an impression of their holistic healthcare and
Applicant’s cloud-based computer software services, which
coordinate a variety of healthcare information.
Id., at 8-9. Applicant has misread the case law. It is not necessary for the recitation
of services to specifically state that the services are personalized, customized, or
unique to find that the mark YOURCARE is merely descriptive. Nor is it necessary
to focus on the platform on which Applicant’s services are offered, cloud-based
software. The question to be asked is whether the mark YOURCARE immediately
conveys that the information provided through the cloud-based software is
coordinated healthcare information provided to healthcare providers, patients, and
customers. Applicant’s promotional materials answer this question: yes, it does. See
for example:
Serial No. 86505916

- 7 -
Meet Your New CEO.
The day of the patient is here.
And she knows what she
wants. Ready for change?

YourCareUniverse™ is how
you control the world of change
occurring throughout
healthcare. It’s about putting
consumers and patients at the
center of your organization’s
strategy. YourCareUniverse is
how you execute critical
strategies, build loyalty, trust
and affect the behavior of the
patient, the person, and the
population.
In the Universe, patients
achieve better outcomes. People
live healthier lives. The
population becomes more
engaged – with you.

A Cloud Platform that
makes everything clear.
YourCareUniverse’s cloud-
based platform lets you attack
the future with instantly-
shared best practices from
hundreds of hospitals across
the country. It gives you access
to descriptive, prescriptive and
predictive analytics at nine
different levels. Integration
becomes easy, smart, virtual
and drives everyone into the
logical chain of patient,
provider and consumer
interaction.

Serial No. 86505916

- 8 -
Exhibit to Denial of Request for Reconsideration dated December 18, 2015, TSDR p.
26.4 As seen above, Applicant’s software provides coordinated healthcare information
to healthcare providers, patients and customers. As such, the mark YOURCARE
describes a significant attribute, namely access to and use of healthcare information
by healthcare providers, patients and customers. Accordingly, Applicant’s services
are merely descriptive thereof.

Decision: The refusal to register Applicant’s mark YOURCARE is affirmed.

4 Applicant also alleges that its mark is not descriptive because it is part of its
family of marks. “A family of marks is a group of marks having a recognizable
common characteristic, wherein the marks are composed and used in such a
way that the public associates not only the individual marks, but the common
characteristic of the family, with the trademark owner. Simply using a series
of similar marks does not of itself establish the existence of a family. There
must be a recognition among the purchasing public that the common
characteristic is indicative of a common origin of the goods.” J & J Snack Foods
Corp. v. McDonald’s Corp., 932 F.2d 1460, 18 USPQ2d 1889, 1891 (Fed. Cir.
1991). Applicant has not established that it owns a family of marks.