## Facts

- Quadrillion Publishing Limited applied to register the mark “BRAMLEY” on the Principal Register.
- The examining attorney refused registration on the ground that BRAMLEY is primarily merely a surname.
- As evidence of surname significance, the examining attorney found 433 surname entries for “Bramley” in PHONEDISC POWERFINDER USA, a surname database.
- The examining attorney also found no entry for “Bramley” in Webster’s and other unabridged dictionaries commonly used in the United States.
- Quadrillion submitted evidence that there is a small village in England called Bramley.
- Quadrillion also submitted evidence of an entry for “Bramley” in the Oxford English Dictionary.
- Quadrillion appealed the examining attorney’s refusal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).

## Issues

1. Whether “BRAMLEY” is primarily merely a surname under Lanham Act § 2(e)(4), requiring refusal of registration on the Principal Register absent a showing of acquired distinctiveness.

## Decision

- The TTAB affirmed the examining attorney’s refusal to register BRAMLEY on the Principal Register.
- The Board concluded that the evidence of surname significance (including the 433 PHONEDISC listings) supported a finding that BRAMLEY would be perceived primarily as a surname by relevant U.S. consumers.
- The Board found Quadrillion’s evidence of a small English village named Bramley and an Oxford English Dictionary entry insufficient to change the primary significance of BRAMLEY from surname to a non-surname meaning for the U.S. public on this record.
- Registration therefore remained barred under § 2(e)(4) (absent acquired distinctiveness, which was not established in the record described).

## Legal Principles

- A mark is unregistrable on the Principal Register under Lanham Act § 2(e)(4) if it is “primarily merely a surname,” unless the applicant proves acquired distinctiveness under § 2(f).
- In assessing whether a term is primarily merely a surname, the TTAB considers evidence bearing on the term’s primary significance to the relevant public, including:
  - how frequently the term appears as a surname (often shown through telephone directory and database evidence);
  - whether the term has a recognized meaning other than surname significance (including dictionary meaning or other established significance); and
  - whether any non-surname meaning is likely to be the primary meaning for U.S. purchasers.
- Evidence that a term does not appear in common U.S. dictionaries may support a conclusion that consumers are more likely to perceive it as a surname when surname-usage evidence is strong.
- Evidence of a foreign geographic reference or other non-U.S.-centered meaning may carry limited weight where the record does not show that U.S. consumers would primarily perceive the term in that non-surname sense.

## Conclusion

In *In re Quadrillion Publishing Ltd.*, the TTAB upheld the examining attorney’s refusal to register BRAMLEY on the Principal Register because the record, including 433 surname listings and the absence of a common U.S. dictionary meaning, supported the determination that BRAMLEY is primarily merely a surname; the applicant’s evidence of an English village and an Oxford English Dictionary entry did not show that U.S. consumers would primarily view the term as something other than a surname.


In re Quadrillion Publishing Ltd., 2000 TTAB LEXIS 562 (Aug. 9, 2000)