Federal Circuit: Royal Crown Company, Inc. v. The Coca-Cola Company, Inc.

A mark is generic if the public would understand that it referred to a key aspect of the genus, leading it to believe the mark is a generic term.  This can be established from any competent source.

The inquiry into distinctiveness becomes more stringent as the mark grows more specific.

Association of the mark with the genus is not necessarily proof of the generic nature of the mark.

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