Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/19-46_8n59.pdf
Page Number: 5

Cite as:  591 U. S. ____ (2020) 

3 

Opinion of the Court 

register accords more modest benefits; notably, a listing on 
that register announces one’s use of the designation to oth-
ers considering a similar mark.  See 3 J. McCarthy, Trade-
marks and Unfair Competition §19:37 (5th ed. 2019) (here-
inafter  McCarthy).    Even  without  federal  registration,  a 
mark  may  be  eligible  for  protection  against  infringement 
under both the Lanham Act and other sources of law.  See 
Matal, 582 U. S., at ___–___ (slip op., at 4–5). 

Prime  among  the  conditions  for  registration,  the  mark
must  be  one  “by  which  the  goods of  the  applicant  may  be 
distinguished from the goods of others.”  §1052; see §1091(a)
(supplemental  register  contains  “marks  capable  of  distin-
guishing . . . goods or services”).  Distinctiveness is often ex-
pressed on an increasing scale: Word marks “may be (1) ge-
neric;  (2)  descriptive;  (3)  suggestive;  (4)  arbitrary;  or  (5)
fanciful.”  Two Pesos, Inc. v. Taco Cabana, Inc., 505 U. S. 
763, 768 (1992).

The more distinctive the mark, the more readily it quali-
fies for the principal register.  The most distinctive marks— 
those  that  are  “ ‘arbitrary’  (‘Camel’  cigarettes),  ‘fanciful’ 
(‘Kodak’ film), or ‘suggestive’ (‘Tide’ laundry detergent)”—
may  be  placed  on  the  principal  register  because  they  are 
“inherently distinctive.”  Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Samara 
Brothers, Inc., 529 U. S. 205, 210–211 (2000).  “Descriptive”
terms, in contrast, are not eligible for the principal register
based on their inherent qualities alone.  E.g., Park ’N Fly, 
Inc.  v.  Dollar  Park  &  Fly,  Inc.,  718  F. 2d  327,  331  (CA9
1983) (“Park ’N Fly” airport parking is descriptive), rev’d on
other grounds, 469 U. S. 189 (1985).  The Lanham Act, “lib-
eraliz[ing]  the  common  law,”  “extended  protection  to  de-
scriptive  marks.”    Qualitex  Co.  v.  Jacobson  Products  Co., 
514 U. S. 159, 171 (1995).  But to be placed on the principal 
register, descriptive terms must achieve significance “in the 
minds of the public” as identifying the applicant’s goods or
services—a quality called “acquired distinctiveness” or “sec-
ondary  meaning.”  Wal-Mart  Stores,  529  U. S.,  at  211