Trademarks / Supreme Court

Booking.com wins Supreme Court ruling on generic.com trademark registration

The Court held that a generic.com term is not automatically generic if consumers perceive it as a source identifier.

By Mateo VargaTrademark and Brand DeskEdited by Maris EllisonJune 30, 20204 min read

USPTO v. Booking.com gave online brands a major Supreme Court win on generic.com marks.

The Court rejected a rule that combining a generic term with .com automatically produces a generic, unregistrable mark. Consumer perception controls.

For digital brands, the decision made survey evidence and marketplace recognition central to registration strategy.

The case belongs in the 2020 trademark archive because it directly affects naming, domain strategy, and brand clearance for internet businesses.

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Original IPDispatch summary based on primary sources; data provided by PatentBear.