A Plant Variety Name is Generic and Cannot be a Trademark

In Re Pennington Seed, Inc., [06-1133](Fed. Cir. 2006)[LOURIE, Michel, Ellis] The Federal Circuit affirmed the TTAB’s affirmance of the Examiner’s refusal to register the plant variety name REBEL as a trademark. Applicant had previously designated the term “Rebel” as the varietal (or cultivar) name for a grass seed that was the subject of a plant variety protection (“PVP”) certificate, issued on May 14, 1981. The Examiner refused registration based upon a long standing precedent that the varietal name was the generic term for the plant. The Federal Circuit found no error in the refusal of registration on grounds of genericness.