Based in Texas, Acquisition.com LLC, operators of the domain name Acquisition.com, have filed for the registration of the matching mark with the USPTO: ACQUISITION.COM.
Color is not claimed as a feature of the mark. The mark consists of a stylized triangle to the left of the stylized words ACQUISITION.COM.
The applicant is looking to register the mark for the following products/services:
Educational services, namely, providing online educational classes for business owners; providing non-downloadable videos in the field of training for business owners; educational and entertainment services, namely, providing motivational and educational speakers.
The domain was registered in 1998. In 2021 the company filed for the registration of the textual version, instead of the stylized variant.
Unfortunately, that application was denied. The new application appears to be introducing stylized elements to circumvent the reasons given for the initial decision: “Mark is generic & merely descriptive.”
Applying for the registration of matching marks is an ongoing trend among owners of generic domain names, following the decision by SCOTUS on the Booking.com trademark application.
Since then, dozens of generic domain names have been applied to be registered as trademarks, inclusive of the TLD.
As of January 5th, 2021, BOOKING.COM is a registered trademark with the USPTO.
Will these applications become the new norm? Watch this video from NamesCon Online 2020.
