Usa Intellectual Property Law: MATTRESS.COM Case - Assignment Example

However, this application was opposed by several third-party websites that are used by online retrials to sell mattresses and bedding whose internet addresses (uniform resource locators) end in mattress.com or in-between containing “mattress” and “.com”. Dial-A-Mattress argued that the term “.

com” was used to evoke “comfort” or “comfortable”. This means that the mark was meant to act as a mnemonic and an indication of the quality of comfort. However, there are important factors that have to be considered in light of this application. As a member of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, there are important factors that should be considered in light of the existing laws and the interest of all the parties involved to make a binding decision on this application. Common customers would understand the importance of the use of MATTRESS.

COM about the commercial website that would be used by Dial-A-Mattress to sell mattresses. This is because it identifies a key focus of the company and a symbol they are likely to identify with. However, on legal grounds, the use of the mark MATTRESS.COM is generic in different ways. First, there is a conflict between the use of the term MATTRESS.COM by Dial-A-Mattress and other third-party companies that use the term “mattress.com”. This means that the difference between the two terms is in the capitalization of the words.

Capitalization of the words does not in any way create different meanings but it is just a mere difference in presentation. The term “mattress” is indisputably generic, which means even the addition of the “.com” to identify it as a commercial website does not transform it into a trademark (Jane & Wright, 2000). In addition, it can be argued that the separate terms “mattress” and “.com” have a meaning identical to the common meaning of separate components when the two are in combination.

“Online mattress store” is a generic term and does not in any way prevent MATTRESS.COM from being considered as a generic term when used to refer to the offering of similar services. Second, there is a conflict of interest and bad taste for the use of the term MATTRESS.COM about offering similar products and services. Even if the term “mattress.com” was being used about selling different services or goods which are not mattresses, it will still be considered generic. The goods or services sold under the name, whether they are of the different genera from mattresses, will still have an online component to the mattress stores.

Third, Dial-A-Mattress cannot provide enough evidence to show that the term MATTRESS.COM is a double entendre that is likely to evoke comfort quality. It does not also prove how this term is mnemonic. This means that the reference to which Dial-A-Mattress makes to this term is not grounded in actuality.