Opinion ID: 785783
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: RSI's Evidence of Genericness

Text: 28 To rebut the presumption that the mark is not generic, RSI must offer sufficient proof that the primary significance of the mark [is] its indication of the nature or class of the product or service, rather than an indication of source. Glover, 74 F.3d at 59. Additionally, the evidence must demonstrate the generic understanding of the mark from the viewpoint of the `relevant public.' Id. (quoting 15 U.S.C.A. § 1064(3)). The district court determined that the relevant consuming public includes Internet users seeking information about mail order offerings. Retail Servs., 247 F.Supp.2d at 826. We agree with this conclusion, and defendants do not take issue with it. 29 Defendants' mark was registered for use in connection with magazines and newspapers with information about mail order offerings. J.A. 96. Although the publication of the printed Freebies Magazine ceased in 2001, defendants continued to offer the same kinds of information on their website, hoping to attract Internet users looking for mail-order material. Thus, the issue boils down to this: whether RSI has offered sufficient evidence that, in the minds of Internet users interested in online free mail-order information, the term freebie or freebies does not give an indication of source, Glover, 74 F.3d at 59, but rather identifies the nature or general class of goods or services, i.e., employs the common name of a product or service. Sara Lee, 81 F.3d at 464. 30 Evidence offered to rebut the presumption of validity may come from any number of sources, including purchaser testimony, consumer surveys, listings and dictionaries, trade journals, newspapers, and other publications. Glover, 74 F.3d at 59; see In re Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., 828 F.2d 1567, 1570 (Fed.Cir.1987) (Evidence of the public's understanding of the term may be obtained from any competent source....). Other common sources include evidence of generic use by competitors, generic use of the term by the mark's owners, and use of the term by third parties in trademark registrations. Nartron, 305 F.3d at 406. 31 The district court considered various dictionary definitions that were roughly uniform in defining freebie as a slang term meaning `something ... given or received without charge.' Retail Servs., 247 F.Supp.2d at 826 (quoting Webster's Ninth Collegiate Dictionary 491 (1988)); see, e.g., The American Heritage College Dictionary 542 (3d ed.1997) (An article or service given free.); Webster's II New Riverside University Dictionary 504 (1988) (Something given or received gratis....); Cambridge International Dictionary of English, Online Edition, available at http://dictionary.cambridge.org ([S]omething which is given to you without you having to pay for it, esp. as a way of attracting your support for or interest in something.). The district court noted that, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, freebie has been understood to mean `something that is provided free' since its 1942 inclusion in The American Thesaurus of Slang: A Complete Reference Book of Colloquial Speech.  Retail Servs., 247 F.Supp.2d at 826-27. Although not controlling, dictionary definitions are relevant and sometimes persuasive on the issue of genericness based upon the assumption that dictionary definitions usually reflect the public's perception of a word's meaning and its contemporary usage. 2 McCarthy at § 12.13 (internal quotation marks omitted); see Harley-Davidson, Inc. v. Grottanelli, 164 F.3d 806, 810 (2nd Cir.1999) ([D]ictionary definitions of a word to denote a category of products are significant evidence of genericness.); Mil-Mar Shoe Co. v. Shonac Corp., 75 F.3d 1153, 1158 (7th Cir.1996) (Because generic use implies use consistent with common understanding, we have often looked to dictionaries as a source of evidence on genericness.). 32 Furthermore, as noted above, evidence of the owner's generic use, in particular, is strong evidence of genericness. 2 McCarthy at § 12.13. The district court highlighted the contents of defendants' own <freebies.com> website, which undercut their position that freebies is not a generic term. See Retail Servs. Inc., 247 F.Supp.2d at 827. For example, the < freebies.com> home page included a banner announcing that the website was BRINGING YOU THE BEST FREE AND ALMOST FREE OFFERS SINCE 1977 and stating that Freebies.com is the best place on the web for free and almost free offers that you won't find anywhere else. J.A. 1382. The stylized freebies logo at the top of the home page appeared above the same slogan that had been emblazoned on the printed version of Freebies Magazine: The Magazine with Something for Nothing. J.A. 238; 1382. 33 The actual offers included on <freebies.com> or in Freebies Magazine used the term freebies in this same sense — items that the reader would ordinarily expect to pay for but could obtain for free with the information provided by the magazine or website. For example, the September-October 1983 edition of Freebies Magazine included a section entitled Football Freebies which explained how to obtain fabulous freebies offered by your own special team. J.A. 267. The section was divided into two columns. One column, under the heading TEAM, listed addresses for various National Football League franchises, and the other column, under the heading FREEBIE, listed items that could be obtained for no cost (such as bumper stickers or posters) upon request. Likewise, on the website, typical items might include American flag lapel pins or tie tacks, like those offered on January 9, 2003, which could be obtained by sending the specified postage and handling costs to the address provided by <freebies.comm>. Gail and Eugene Zannon, moreover, both gave deposition testimony confirming that their use of the term freebies was consistent with the commonly understood meaning of the word, referring to free goods and services, and that their primary business is the distribution of [information about] free or almost free goods and services. J.A. 447; 537. 34 Defendants' use of the term freebies is consistent with the use of that term by scores of other websites on the Internet. Typical of these domain names are <weeklyfreebie.com>, which compiles categorized lists of freebie products and where to get them, J.A. 1174; <coolfreebielinks.com>, which uses a banner announcing Freebies, free stuff, giveaways... call them what you want, they all break down to the same thing ... getting something for nothing, J.A. 1154; <freebies24x7.com>, which offers one of the Web's largest collection of freebies.... If it's freebies you want, then it's freebies you got.... so put away your wallet and grab some Freebies! J.A. 1258; and < freebiedirectory.com>, the domain name for a website describing itself as Your searchable source for FREEBIES and providing information about a wide variety of free products and services. J.A. 1152. There is also < freebiedot.com>, your source for freebies and free stuff... daily for freebies hunters like you, J.A. 1139; <freebies4all.net>, which claims to be [t]he # 1 resource for FREE stuff on the web ... only top notch freebies are listed, J.A. 1140; and <alwaysfreebies.com>, which also claims to be the Internet's leading resource for free stuff with the latest and greatest freebies, J.A. 1140. 35 Defendants' website, and those listed above, are but a few of the 1,600-plus websites (or more) that incorporate the word freebie or freebies into their domain names. These websites are now so common that the term freebie site is often used by these sites to refer to other sites that, like defendants, offer information about free products or services. 3 In addition to this voluminous information pulled directly from these websites, the record contains declarations from competitor sites. Glenda McGarity, the owner of a website called Killer Freebies & Deals, <killerfreebies.com>, understands the word `freebies' to refer to free or almost free goods and services, supplies information about freebies offered by other individuals or companies, and is aware of many such Internet businesses that offer freebies. J.A. 626. Likewise, Lee Seats, who operates About.com's section on the topic of freebies, <freebies.about.com>, uses freebies on his website to refer to free or almost free goods and services and is in the business of providing information, tips and advice about how to obtain free or almost free goods and services (i.e., freebies) offered by other companies or individuals. J.A. 629. Finally, RSI offered a list of fifty-one newspaper or news media reports using the phrase freebie site to refer to websites similar to defendants' freebies.com. 36 The district court concluded that the evidence of genericness was so one-sided that no genuine issue of fact existed as to whether, in the public's mind, `freebies' indicates free or almost free products and is not identified with defendants or their website in particular. Retail Servs., 247 F.Supp.2d at 827. Such one-sided evidence necessarily rebuts the presumption of non-genericness.