The application for the registration of the mark CAMS.COM has been issued a six month period to address specific issues that affect the process.
The CAMS.COM trademark applicants were given three issues to respond to:
- Refusal – Applied-For Mark is Generic
- Refusal in the Alternative – Applied-For Mark is Merely Descriptive
- Applicant’s Claim of Acquired Distinctiveness is Insufficient
According to the examiner’s response:
A term is generic if the relevant public understands the term as referring to the category or genus of the goods and/or services in question […] Here, the attached evidence from Google shows that there are many other adult entertainment websites that use the wording “CAMS” and “.COM” together, namely, bongacams.com, myfreecams.com, privatecams.com, bestsexcams.com, firecams.com, cams.xvideos.com, m.wowcams.com, yescams.com, mhcams.com, and similarcams.com.
Dozens of applicants of trademarks matching .com domains are still on hold, more than a year after a decision for BOOKING.COM opened the floodgates. The USPTO is backlogged and the waiting time can be up to 9 months, all thanks to China-sourced trademark applications.
The registration of the mark CAMS.COM is “on hold” for a year now, following its application in July 2020.
Domains, brands and trademarks. Photo by Amador Loureiro on Unsplash
It’s 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. We keep track of these applications, and so far none has been decided upon.
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.
