TTAB Refuses to Register Mark for Beer Logo with Empire State Building

Siding with the owners of the Empire State Building, the Trademark Trial
and Appeal Board has refused to register a logo for “NYC Beer” featuring
a drawing of the building. ESRT Empire State Bldg. v. Liang, No.
91204122 (T.T.A.B., order entered June 17, 2016). Claiming ownership of
a trademark in a line drawing featuring the building, ESRT Empire State
Building filed an opposition to Michael Liang’s application to register
a black-and-white image resembling the Empire State Building circled
by a black ring and the words “NYC Beer.” TTAB found that the image
was likely to dilute ESRT’s mark, finding that Liang’s description in his
application of “a building resembling the Empire State Building” belied
his argument that the design could be a different building. Accordingly,
the board refused to grant the trademark.

Issue 609