Posts Tagged: "inherent distinctiveness"

Eleventh Circuit Finds ENGINEERED TAX SERVICES Mark Inherently Distinctive

On May 14, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed a decision of the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Engineered Tax Services, Inc., v. Scarpello Consulting, Inc. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Scarpello, asserting that no reasonable jury could find ENGINEERED TAX SERVICES to be a valid trademark due to a lack of distinctiveness. Engineered Tax Services (ETS) appealed to the Eleventh Circuit, which found that a reasonable jury could have found the mark to be inherently distinctive.

In re Forney Could Herald a Brighter Future for Color Marks

Trademarks consisting solely of a color applied to products or their packaging have been protectable under U.S. law for decades—if they meet a heightened standard for protection. Since the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Qualitex Co. v. Jacobson Products Co. and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Samara Brothers, Inc., an applicant for a color mark has been required to prove that the color actually serves as an indicator of source in the minds of consumers by showing that the mark has acquired distinctiveness (otherwise known as secondary meaning). Yet that longstanding requirement no longer applies to all color marks, after a new decision by the Federal Circuit in In re Forney, which opens the door for the first time to certain color marks gaining protection as inherently distinctive.