1-800-PETMEDS states it owns “PetMeds” term

Firm files complaint against rival store but loses.

When you hear “Pet Meds”, what do you think regarding? The store 1-800-PetMeds.com or simply “pet medications”.

Pet meds is a simple descriptive term, shorthand for pet medications.

But online pet pharmacy PetMed Express, Inc., a.k.a. 1-800-PetMeds, states it owns the term “PetMeds” and is going following competitors that use the term in their domains.

Amazingly, the firm was granted a trademark to “PetMeds” on the principal register in 2006. It’s granted under 2f, meaning there’s a claim of purchased distinctiveness. It’s been challenged, but the firm still holds the mark.

And it’s using it in UDRP cases to try to take down competitor sites.

The latest challenge was against online pet pharmacy petmedsnmore.com. The firm had sales in February of close to half a million dollars and employees over a dozen pharmacists and pharmacist technicians.

PetMed Express argued that PetMedsNMore.com registered the domain in bad faith to capitalize on PetMed Express’ name.

The panel ruled that the domain owner was merely using the domain in a descriptive sense, and that it may keep the domain name.

Another panel made a similar ruling in a previous case involving five domain names counting petmedoutlet.com.

PetMed Express owns PetMeds.com, which it forwards to its main web site.

This is another reminder that branding around a generic term has its advantages but also its challenges.