The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) affirmed a refusal of a trademark application for the "BARR GROUP" for engineering related services, finding the mark to be primarily merely a surname. 

On March 24, 2015, in B&B Hardware, Inc. v. Hargis Industries, Inc., the Supreme Court held that a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decision is to be given issue preclusion effect when the usages it adjudciated are materially the same as those before a later district court proceeding.