TTABlog Quarterly Index: January - March 2012

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Section 2(a) - Disparagement:

• TTAB Reveses 2(a) Disparagement Refusal of CHINA FREE & Design for Vitamins

Section 2(b) - Official Insignia:

• Precedential Nos. 1 and 2: TTAB Rules that Section 2(b) Bars Registration of a Government Entity's Own Official Insignia

Section 2(d) - Likelihood of Confusion:

• Precedential No. 14: TTAB Reverses 2(d) Refusal of GRAND HOTEL NYC over GRAND HOTEL for Hotel Services
• Precedential No. 13: TTAB Sustains L'Oreal's Opposition to L'OREAL PARIS for Aloe Vera Drinks, Finding Likely Confusion and Lack of Bona Fide Intent
• Opposer's Vague Testimony Fails to Establish Priority, TTAB Dismisses 2(d) DITA Opposition
• TTAB Grants Summary Judgment Motion in Section 2(d) Opposition Involving "AA" Marks
• Precedential No. 10: TTAB Finds COLOMBIANO COFFEE HOUSE Confusingly Similar to COLOMBIAN Certification Mark for Coffee
• Precedential No. 9: Rejecting Parody Defense, TTAB Finds CRACKBERRY Likely to Cause Confusion With and Likely to Dilute BLACKBERRY
• Test Your TTAB Judge-Ability: Are MANGO BEACH and MANGO Confusingly Similar for Soaps, Cosmetics, and Perfumes?
• Precedential No. 5: Parties Choose ACR, TTAB Finds TURFECTA and TRIFECTA Confusingly Similar for Grass Seed
• Test Your TTAB Judge-Ability: Are Pet Treats and Pet Boarding Services Related for Section 2(d) Purposes?
• WYHA? TTAB Affirms 2(d) Refusal of THE LEATHER + VINYL DOCTOR Over LEATHER & VINYL MD & Design
• Test Your TTAB Judge-Ability on These Four Section 2(d) Refusals
• Test Your TTAB Judge-Ability: Are MOCAMBO for Rum and MOCAMBO for Cigars Confusingly Similar?
• Test Your TTAB Judge-Ability on this Section 2(d) Refusal of READYSHIP over SHIPREADY
• Test Your TTAB Judge-Ability on this Section 2(d) Design Mark Refusal
• WYHO? TTAB Dismisses BVD's 2(d) and 43(c) Opposition to BOSIDENG BSD and Design
• TTAB Sustains BIG TEXAS 2(d) Opposition, But Denies Lack-of-Bona-Fide Intent Claim

Section 2(e)(1) - Mere Descriptiveness:

• Test Your TTAB Judge-Ability: Must Apple Disclaim "LP" in ITUNES LP?
• Test Your TTAB Judge-Ability On These Five Mere Descriptiveness Refusals
• Test Your TTAB Judge-Ability on These Three Mere Descriptiveness Refusals
• WYHA? Applying Doctrine of Foreign Equivalents, TTAB Finds LA PELLE Merely Descriptive of Leather for Furniture

Section 2(e)(2) - Primarily Geographically Descriptive:

• TTAB Affirms 2(e)(2) Refusal of "THE MUNICH & Design" for Business Services Without a Disclaimer of MUNICH

Section 2(e)(3) - Primarily Geographically Deceptively Misdescriptive:

• Precedential No. 15: TTAB Affirms Section 2(e)(3) Refusal of OLD HAVANA as Primarily Geographically Deceptively Misdescriptive of Rum
• Precedential No. 7: On Remand from District Court, TTAB Sustains Section 2(e)(3) Opposition to GUANTANAMERA for Cigars
• TTAB Dismisses Section 2(e)(3) Petition for Cancellation of SWEDISH FIRESTEEL for Fire Igniters

Abandonment:

• Registrant Fails To Overcome Presumption of Abandonment, TTAB Partially Cancels E-MOTION Registration
• Precedential No. 11: Sidestepping Fraud Claim, TTAB Cancels "SHUT IT DOWN" Registration Due to Abandonment and Nonuse

Certification Mark:

• Precedential No. 10: TTAB Finds COLOMBIANO COFFEE HOUSE Confusingly Similar to COLOMBIAN Certification Mark for Coffee
• Precedential No. 3: TTAB Dismisses Petition to Cancel SWISS and SWISS MADE Certification Mark Registrations for Watches

Dilution:

• Precedential No. 9: Rejecting Parody Defense, TTAB Finds CRACKBERRY Likely to Cause Confusion With and Likely to Dilute BLACKBERRY
• WYHO? TTAB Dismisses BVD's 2(d) and 43(c) Opposition to BOSIDENG BSD and Design

Fraud:

• TTAB Discards Lame Fraud Claim but Grants 2(d) Petition to Cancel "BIO1ONE" Registration
• Precedential No. 11: Sidestepping Fraud Claim, TTAB Cancels "SHUT IT DOWN" Registration Due to Abandonment and Nonuse

Genericness:

• Precedential No. 17: TTAB Reverses Genericness Refusal of TENNIS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
• TTAB Affirms Genericness Refusal of CHRISTMAS ALE for ... Guess What?

Lack of Bona Fide Intent;

• Precedential No. 13: TTAB Sustains L'Oreal's Opposition to L'OREAL PARIS for Aloe Vera Drinks, Finding Likely Confusion and Lack of Bona Fide Intent
• TTAB Sustains BIG TEXAS 2(d) Opposition, But Denies Lack-of-Bona-Fide Intent Claim

Nonuse:

• Precedential No. 11: Sidestepping Fraud Claim, TTAB Cancels "SHUT IT DOWN" Registration Due to Abandonment and Nonuse

Section 44(e) Basis:

• Precedential No. 6: TTAB Summarily Cancels Registration Due to Flawed Section 44(e) Basis

Single Creative Work:

• Precedential No. 36: TTAB Enters Summary Judgment Cancelling Trademark Registration for the Title of a Single Creative Work

Use in Commerce/Specimen of Use:

• Precedential No. 16: "CEI" Identifies a Process, Not a Service, So TTAB Affirms Refusal to Register
• Test Your TTAB Judge-Ability: Two Classes, One Specimen of Use, Divided Panel
• Use of Mark for Menu Item Insufficient for Restaurant Services Application, Says TTAB
• Test Your TTAB Judge-Ability on this Service Mark Specimen of Use

Discovery/Evidence/Procedure:

• Precedential No. 12: TTAB Dismisses Cancellation Petition Due to Improper Service
• Granting Rule 2.132(b) Motion, TTAB Dismisses Ston Cor's 2(d) Opposition For Failure to Make Prima Facie Case
• TTAB Knocks Out Ten Affirmative Defenses in SF Giants' Opposition to SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA Design Mark
• Precedential No. 8: TTAB Applies Collateral Estoppel in Ex Parte Section 2(d) Context Based on Prior TTAB Proceedings
• Precedential No. 5: Parties Choose ACR, TTAB Finds TURFECTA and TRIFECTA Confusingly Similar for Grass Seed
• Precedential No. 4: TTAB Dismisses "Goats on a Roof" Cancellation Petition for Lack of Standing, Failure to State a Claim
• A Sampling of TTAB Motion Practice
• Precedential No. 37: TTAB Applies Res Judicata to 2(f) Issue, But Not Genericness, in AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE Oppositions

CAFC Decisions:

• CAFC Reverses TTAB's MILANZA Decision, Finds Confusion Likely With POTENZA and TURANZA For Tires
• CAFC Upholds TTAB's Affirmance of Section 2(d) Refusal of XCEED Over X-SEED & Design for Agricultural Seed
• CAFC Affirms TTAB Dismissal of COACH Section 2(d) and Dilution Claims, But Remands Mere Descriptiveness Claim

Recommended Reading:

• Holiday Reading: The Trademark Reporter's Annual Review of U.S. Trademark Cases
• Recommended Reading: Professor Barton Beebe: "Is The Trademark Office A Rubber Stamp?: Trademark Registration Rates at the PTO, 1981-2010"
• Recommended Reading: TTAB Judge Lorelei Ritchie, "Is 'Willful Blindness' the New 'Recklessness' after Global-Tech?"

Other:

• TTABlogger Named to "World Trademark Review 1000" List
• Erik Pelton's Summary of March 8th TPAC Public Meeting
• TTAB Posts March 2012 Hearing Schedule
• Cindy B. Greenbaum Appointed as 19th TTAB Judge
• TTAB Seeks to Fill Managing Interlocutory Attorney Position
• TTAB Posts February 2012 Hearing Schedule
• Feathers! Survives: USPTO Will Continue TARR Database
• The Top Ten TTAB Decisions of 2011 [Part II]
• The Top Ten TTAB Decisions of 2011 [Part I]
• TTAB Issued 37 Precedential Decisions in 2011
• Test Your TTAB TriviAbility: Which Law Firms Filed the Most Oppositions in 2011?
• Towergate Software: Gallery of Design Mark Refusals
• TTAB Posts January 2012 Hearing Schedule

Text and Photos Copyright John L. Welch 2012.