Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Grants Key Victory in Rothwell Figg Pro Bono Effort to Reclaim 'For The Kids' for Public Use
On December 20, 2024, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ("the Board") delivered a significant victory to Rothwell Figg pro bono client Kaylee Tutrow in her dispute with The Pennsylvania State University (“Penn State”). This decision marks a significant step in her mission to return the phrase “For The Kids” to the public domain. Kaylee is a medical and Ph.D. student who, inspired by her childhood experience of receiving pediatric care, is deeply invested in fundraising for children's hospitals. With the assistance of Rothwell Figg, she seeks to cancel Penn State’s registration of the trademark “FOR THE KIDS”.
“For The Kids” has served as a unifying call to action for charitable organizations and dance marathons nationwide, rallying support to fund vital care for children. For Kaylee and countless others, the phrase symbolizes hope, community, and advocacy for children’s health. Despite its widespread use, Penn State attempted to maintain exclusive rights to the phrase by registering it as their own trademark, undermining the efforts of organizations and individuals like Kaylee who have used it as a banner for various charitable causes across the country. Kaylee seeks to cancel Penn State’s registration of the trademark “FOR THE KIDS” for goods and services in Classes 25 and 36 because the phrase fails to function as a trademark, is merely descriptive, and in the alternative, generic in the context of fundraising for children’s hospitals.
In May 2024, the Board dismissed Kaylee’s initial petition to cancel the trademark on procedural grounds but granted her leave to amend. On December 20, 2024, the Board denied Penn State’s renewed motion to dismiss Kaylee’s amended petition, concluding that she had adequately alleged standing to bring the action. The Board also ruled that Kaylee had sufficiently pleaded that “FOR THE KIDS” is descriptive and has not become distinctive of Penn State’s goods and services. Furthermore, the Board found that Kaylee’s alternative claim—that the mark is generic for the goods and services in question—was also sufficiently pleaded to proceed.
This decision marks a pivotal step toward reclaiming “For The Kids” as a shared phrase for the many organizations and individuals who have long used it to support children’s hospitals and raise funds for critical pediatric care.
Kaylee’s commitment to this cause reflects her personal journey and passion for advancing children’s healthcare. As she explained, her motivation for seeking cancellation of this trademark “is not a mark of personal pride. ‘For The Kids’ is and always will be what unified thousands of us. To stand. To fundraise. To share stories. To choose careers, like medicine, that would change the lives of the children we met through these events.” Returning “For The Kids” to the public domain is a matter of principle and justice.
Kaylee is represented in this case by Rothwell Figg attorneys Steven Lieberman, Leo Loughlin, Davide Schiavetti and Sheena Wang.
