Booking.com Trademark Protectable Despite Using Generic Term

“Booking.com” is a valid trademark even if the word “booking” is a generic term, the Fourth Circuit ruled Feb. 4.

The appeals court said a generic term combined with ".com” can receive trademark protection if the public perceives it as a non-generic brand name.

A trademark examiner and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board rejected Booking’s application to register “Booking.com,” finding that it was generic. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia disagreed, finding “Booking.com” descriptive as a whole with secondary meaning.

The district court granted the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office attorneys’ fees based on a ...