Mealey's (September 15, 2017, 9:09 AM EDT) -- WASHINGTON, D.C. — An examiner’s decision — later upheld by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) — that a proposed U-shaped design for a locking channel is unprotectable as functional in light of several expired utility patents will be debated Oct. 4 before the Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (In re: Openings, No. 16-2307, Fed. Cir.)....