Opinion ID: 626569
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: NATIONAL CHAMBER was Properly Refused Registration for Descriptiveness

Text: We conclude that substantial evidence supports the TTAB's finding of descriptiveness. The dictionary definitions relied upon by the TTAB suggest that NATIONAL CHAMBER is a mark that might be viewed as descriptive of services that are nationwide in scope and relate to chambers of commerce. COC concedes that national means nationwide in scope and that chamber is commonly used to refer to a chamber of commerce, and COC does not dispute that a chamber of commerce generally serves to promote the interests of businesspersons in various ways. The government contends that all of the Subject Services are traditionally offered by chambers of commerce to promote business interests, and urges us to rule that NATIONAL CHAMBER is merely descriptive of any nationwide service that is within a broad genus of chamber of commerce services. We decline to announce such an expansive general rule since descriptiveness is determined with respect to the particularly recited services in an application, and must be supported by evidence that pertains to those particularly recited services. See Bayer, 488 F.3d at 963-64. To decide this case, we need only find that NATIONAL CHAMBER immediately conveys information about one feature or characteristic of at least one of the designated services within each of COC's applications. See Stereotaxis, 429 F.3d at 1041 ([R]egistration should be refused if the mark is descriptive of any of the goods for which registration is sought.) (quoting In re Richardson Ink Co., 511 F.2d 559, 561 (CCPA 1975)). Because we find that NATIONAL CHAMBER describes at least one designated service within each of COC's applications, we affirm the descriptiveness refusals. Regarding the '075 application, the TTAB cited printouts of COC's website showing its online service providing directory information for local and state chambers of commerce across the United States. NATIONAL CHAMBER is descriptive of such services, recited in the '075 application as [p]roviding online directory information services featuring information regarding local and state Chambers of Commerce, since this service provides information to identify chambers of commerce nationwide. The descriptiveness refusal of the '075 application was therefore proper. See Stereotaxis Inc., 429 F.3d at 1041. The designated services of the '745 application are (1) analysis of governmental policy relating to businesses and analysis of regulatory activity relating to businesses, all for the purpose of promoting the interests of businessmen and businesswomen; and (2) business data analysis. The record shows that chambers of commerce are organizations that promote the interests of businesspersons generally, and includes articles indicating that chambers of commerce often engage in activities to help their members network with other businesspersons, become informed and involved in business-related legal and policy decisions by governments, and receive training and support to grow and retain business. On this record, substantial evidence supports the TTAB's determination that the designated business and regulatory data analysis services are within the scope of traditional chambers of commerce activities. We need not decide the descriptiveness issue on that basis alone, however, since NATIONAL CHAMBER also describes the expressly recited function of the former service listed in the '745 applicationi.e., that the service is performed for the purposes of promoting the interests of businessmen and businesswomen. See Bayer, 488 F.3d at 963 (A term is merely descriptive if it immediately conveys knowledge of a quality, feature, function, or characteristic of the goods or services with which it is used.) (emphasis added); Stereotaxis Inc., 429 F.3d at 1040-43 (affirming TTAB's finding that STEREOTAXIS was descriptive of certain magnetic medical devices and services because it described their functions and purposesperforming the stereotaxis brain surgery technique). We therefore find that the '745 application was properly refused for descriptiveness. Lastly, we address COC's contention that the TTAB's reasoning was so conclusory as to preclude meaningful appellate review. We disagree with COC that the TTAB's necessary findings were not expressed with sufficient particularity to enable our court, without resort to speculation, to understand the reasoning of the Board, and to determine whether it applied the law correctly and whether the evidence supported the underlying and ultimate fact findings. COC Br. at 15 (quoting Gechter v. Davidson, 116 F.3d 1454, 1457-58 (Fed.Cir.1997)) (alteration removed). The TTAB specifically cited COC's own online chambers of commerce directory, and expressly found that the promotion of business interests is the core function of a chamber of commerce. While the TTAB's decision would have been more helpful to us had it more explicitly tied its particular evidentiary findings to the individually recited services within the two applications, its reasoning in this case is sufficiently clear to permit us to understand why it believed that NATIONAL CHAMBER was descriptive of at least the two services discussed above. See A11 (It takes no mental leap to understand that applicant is using the mark for the services in both applications as a national chamber of commerce, whether promoting the interests of businesspersons or industry on a national level, or connecting local chambers of commerce through a nationwide network.). This case does not present the kinds of critical omissions that were present in Gechter, a patent case, where the Board's opinion lack[ed] a claim construction, ma[de] conclusory findings relating to anticipation, and omit[ted] any analysis on several limitations. 116 F.3d at 1460. In any event, as an appellate tribunal, we sit to review judgments, not opinions, Stratoflex, Inc. v. Aeroquip Corp., 713 F.2d 1530, 1540 (Fed.Cir.1983), and in this case the judgment of the TTAB is supported by substantial evidence.