Which countries are 'First to file'?

By definition, a trademark needs to display sufficient distinctiveness to identify the origin and ownership of the products and services. That means generic and descriptive words should be avoided at all costs. The landmark case in United States PTO v. Booking.com B.V, however, proves that a generic term combined with “.com” or another top-level domain can be registered as a trademark if there is sufficient evidence of consumer recognition.

“We focus on making simple and delicious chocolate, ethically sourced and without additives. That’s the real alchemy where you take something that does not exist and turn it into a reality that people can see, taste, touch and smell.” Jose and Julie first met in Culinary School in Seville and it has been their dream come true to establish Eonce Chocolate, a delicious brand proudly protected by Trama.

Tech-giant formerly known as Facebook announced a rebrand and a change of its name to Meta. Following that, there were many discussions about whether a company as big as Facebook could even end up holding a complete monopoly over such generic word given hundreds of already existing trademarks in the same field of services. The results of these disputes will be decisive for the future of Meta.