WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says travel website Booking.com can trademark its name, a ruling that also impacts other companies whose name is a generic word followed by “.com.”
The high court issued its 8-1 ruling Tuesday, June 30. Lower courts had sided with Booking.com, but the Trump administration had appealed to the Supreme Court.
“We have no cause to deny Booking.com the same benefits Congress accorded other marks qualifying as nongeneric,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for the majority of the court.
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – 2020/04/25: A booking.com logo displayed at the front entrance of headquarters building.
Booking.com is a travel search engine service mainly for travelers to search and make accommodation bookings. (Photo by Robin Utrecht/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Justice Stephen Breyer dissented.
Other businesses including Cars.com, Dictionary.com, Newspapers.com and Wine.com had said the outcome in the case would affect their ability to trademark their names too.
The case was the first of 10 cases argued by telephone in May because of the coronavirus pandemic. It was also the first time audio of arguments was available live.
The case is United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Booking.com B.V., 19-46.
