Test Your TTAB Judge-Ability: Is LIVEVIEW Merely Descriptive of Game Scouting Cameras?

WGI Innovations applied to register the mark LIVEVIEW for "game scouting cameras," but the PTO refused registration on the ground of mere descriptiveness under Section 2(e)(1). What is a game scouting camera, you might ask? According to applicant it is a camera that is mounted on a tree, post, etc., to take and store pictures of wildlife, the camera being activated by a sensor without the user being in the vicinity. WGI Innovations appealed. How do you think this came out? In re WGI Innovations, Ltd., Serial No. 85245646 (February 14, 2013) [not precedential].

The Examining Attorney, relying on dictionary definitions of the constituent words, contended that LIVEVIEW is merely descriptive because LIVE and VIEW are each descriptive of the goods, and their combination retains that descriptive significance. She urged that the mark describes the function of the camera, i.e., to allow "the user to capture live images or views of actual, real live animals on film in their natural environment, and the images may be viewed, examined or inspected carefully at a later time." [emphasis in original]. In other words, LIVEVIEW describes the fact that the user may VIEW the film that was shot LIVE of LIVE animals.

The record showed, however, that the term "live view" usually refers to either the preview frame of a camera's LCD or the function of real time streaming of the "live view" from a camera. WGI's camera provides neither. The preview frame idea is incongruous vis-a-vis applicant's camera because the pictures are taken when the user is absent.

The Board concluded that a multi-stage reasoning process would be required to recognize that LIVEVIEW could refer to observing animals in their natural habit by means of a recorded image that is not really "live."

And so the Board reversed the refusal to register.

Read comments and post your comment here.

TTABlog note: Well, how did you do? Do you agree with the decision? Is the mark misdescriptive of the goods as identified in the application?

Text Copyright John L. Welch 2013.

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