If Dell is going to pursue its quixotic quest to trademark the expression “Cloud Computing,” it’s going to have to convince the US Patent and Trademark Office that the buzzword is neither merely descriptive (like, say, spotted pony) or generic and so “incapable of functioning as a source-identifier” for Dell’s services because that’s what the PTO called it in its latest communiqué to the company, a “non-final action” that denies its trademark application.

Dell was within a hair’s breath of quietly getting the trademark a couple of weeks ago when the PTO was inspired to yank the so-called notice of allowance, a fairly unusual step.

Dell now has six months to change the PTO’s mind again.