Supreme Court Weighs Monopoly Fears in Booking.com Dispute

In the Supreme Court of the United States’ first remote hearing, the justices heard arguments in United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com, a case that questions whether a generic term like “booking” can be registered as a trademark. World Intellectual Property Review contacted Finnegan partner Brett Heavner for his thoughts on the case.

Brett said, “This jurisdictional advantage would be a significant weapon for generics-based domain name owners facing piracy problems.” He added, “Justice Kagan suggested that in place of a categorical rule, there should perhaps be a rule that meshes with the USPTO’s current examination guidelines indicating that generic terms plus gTLD endings would ‘typically’ not be protectable—leaving open the possibility of trademark protection when the domain name’s primary significance to the public is a trademark rather than a generic term.”

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