Where most of us just gaze through windows at the world outside, SolarWindow Technologies, Inc. (SolarWindow) and DryWired both look at them and see opportunities for clean tech innovation.  And both are examples of successful navigation of the federal trademark process for protecting their eco-marks.
SolarWindow sees windows as platforms for renewable energy generation.  The Maryland-based company makes a see-through solar energy generating coating technology for windows, particularly for application to tall towers and skyscrapers.
A , written when SolarWindow was called New Energy Technologies, discussed the company’s trouble with its SOLARWINDOW trademark application.
The word mark was rejected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (Board) as merely descriptive of the technology.  U.S. trademark law’s prohibits registration of marks that are “merely descriptive†of the goods or services.
The Board found that the definitions of the individual words “SOLAR” and “WINDOW” and the descriptive use of the combined term in the industry rendered the trademark merely descriptive.  The Board noted the effect of the mark on relevant consumers:
[I]t is clear that SOLARWINDOW would immediately inform these consumers that applicant’s goods are used to convert existing windows or create windows that are capable of collecting and generating solar energy.
But SolarWindow’s branding bounced back, with a strategy of incorporating distinctive design elements to its trademark.  The result: diminished descriptiveness problems.  The company received a Notice of Allowance in Application No. 85/673,542 for its design mark with window elements:
A Notice of Allowance was also issued in Application No. 86/014,061 for the company’s design mark with square and circle:
SolarWindow has also filed Application No. 86/615,006 for another updated design mark with block and lines and Application No. 86/615,014 for the block and line design alone.
DryWired, based in Los Angeles, makes liquid nanotechnology for windows that shields against energy loss by reducing heat transfer through the coated windows.
Sold under the brand name Liquid NanoTint, the translucent coating uses a combination of solvent borne tin-oxide based nano-particles and an inorganic adhesive binder.
It’s essentially nanotech insulation, forming a 10-micron thick self-leveling coat that bonds directly to glass and protects the inside of the building from the sun’s UV rays and reduces infrared heat transfer to keep the indoor environment cooler in summer and prevent heat loss in the winter.
DryWired owns Application No. 86/396,246 No. for the trademark LIQUID NANOTINT for “antimony tin oxide based liquid thermal insulation nanocoatings for glass.”  The application easily passed through examination and will be registered shortly.
Should you feel the need to go window shopping for some green window dressing this holiday season, you’ll know who to call.
