Articles Posted in Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Proceedings

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The Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 provided for two new ex parte proceedings for non-use trademark challenges, Expungement and Reexamination. Prior to the new proceedings, if a trademark applicant encountered a trademark registration that blocked its application from registering at the Trademark Office, the only option was to initiate an expensive Cancellation Proceeding at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB or Board”). For information on how these two proceedings work, see the firm’s webpage entitled, New USPTO Proceedings: Expungement & Reexamination. Also review, the Examination Guide1-21, Expungement and Reexamination Proceedings under the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020.

A few years later, the Board issued its first precedential expungement decision in In Re Locus Link USA, 2024 USPQ2d 1181 (TTAB 2024). Here, the Board affirmed the USPTO Director’s decision to cancel two registrations for SMARTLOCK for “components for air conditioning and cooling systems, namely evaporative air coolers”. The matter was initiated by a third party who filed a Petition for Expungement against the Registrant alleging non-use of the trademark SMARTLOCK for specified goods.

A Petition for Expungement must allege that the mark “has never been used in commerce on or in connection with some or all of the goods and/or services recited in the registration.” 37 C.F.R. §2.91(a)(1).  A complete Petition must include: (1) a filing fee of  $400 per class; (2) the trademark registration number(s) subject to the Petition: (3) the basis for the Petition under 37 C.F.R. §2.91(a); (4) the required information for Petitioner; (5) identification of each good or service subject to the Petition; (6) the elements of the reasonable investigation of non-use as defined under 37 C.F.R. §2.91(d), it must include a description of how and when the searches were conducted and what the searches disclosed; (7) a factual statement that supports the allegations of non-use as specified in paragraph 37 C.F.R. §2.91(a); and (8) a clear and legible copy of all documentary evidence supporting a prima facie case of non-use of the mark in commerce and an itemized Index of Evidence.

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A recent precedential case from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB” or the “Board”) highlights the problems associated with adopting weak marks. See Shenzhen IVPS Technology Co. Ltd. V. Fancy Pants Products, LLC, 2022 USPQ2d 1035 (TTAB 2022) [precedential], where the Board dismissed an opposition under Section 2(d) of the Lanham Act because the weakness of the common element SMOK/SMOKES mandated the opposer’s mark be given a narrow scope of protection. In addition to battling enforcement of a weak mark, the opposer did not prove an overlap of trade channels. However, the Board determined that opposer’s electronic cigarettes were related to the applicant’s cigarettes containing tobacco substitutes because both products could be used for the same purpose, vaping or smoking a substance.

Regarding the marks, the Board also held that Applicant’s SMOKES (& Design) mark was the phonetic equivalent of Opposer’s mark, SMOK mark. The interesting twist to this precedential decision is that typically once the Board determines the marks are phonetic equivalents and the goods are related, often the opposition based on 2(d) grounds is sustained, but not so here. Here, the weakness of the opposer’s mark played a pivotal role in dismissing the opposition. See our firm page, Disadvantages of Descriptive Trademarks, for more on this topic.

The mark SMOKES or its phonetic equivalent SMOK is descriptive in connection with Opposer’s electronic cigarettes, parts, and accessories and retail store services featuring those goods. Therefore, the applicant correctly argued that the common wording [SMOKES and SMOK] dictated  a narrow scope of protection be given to opposer’s mark due to its descriptive nature. In fact, the Board relied on the well-established principle that when the word portion of a mark is highly suggestive or descriptive, the presence of a design may be a more significant factor. See In re Hamilton Bank, 222 USPQ 174, 179 (TTAB 1984).

Moreover, if the shared element of the two marks is “weak” in that it is generic, descriptive, or highly suggestive of the goods or services identified in the application or registration, then other matter in the marks may be sufficient to obviate confusion. See In re Bed & Breakfast Registry, 791 F.2d 157, 229 USPQ 818, 819 (Fed. Cir. 1986). See also, See Brooklyn Brewery Corp. v. Brooklyn Brew Shop, LLC, 2020 USPQ2d 10914, at *17 (TTAB 2020). The Board held that the pronunciations were similar and so were the meanings of the applicant’s and the opposer’s marks. Lastly, the Board stated, “Opposer’s SMOK mark and the literal portion of Applicant’s composite mark, SMOKES, have similar commercial impressions because they may evoke smokable goods or goods used for smoking.” However, when considering the marks in their entireties, the Board emphasized that the design features in the applicant’s mark were sufficient to distinguish it from opposer’s mark to avoid confusion. The first DuPont factor favored no confusion.

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In a recent precedential decision, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) denied a petition to cancel for failure of the petitioner to prove technical trademark use or use analogous to trademark use before respondent’s priority date, see JNF LLC v. Harwood International Incorporated, 2022 USPQ2d 862 (TTAB 2022) [precedential]. The respondent applied to register the mark HAPPIEST HOUR in standard characters for bar and restaurant services and was successful. About two years after the mark registered, the petitioner filed an application for the mark THE HAPPIEST HOUR for the identical services (bar and restaurant). The Examining Attorney assigned to the petitioner’s application refused the application on 2(d) likelihood of confusion grounds. Subsequently, the petitioner filed a cancellation proceeding based on priority and likelihood of confusion.

In petitioner’s application there was a claim for use of the trademark in commerce in October 2014 (no day was indicated). However, once the application was refused, the petitioner amended its first use date to September 7, 2014. The parties agreed that the primary issue that needed to be resolved was priority. The burden of proof for demonstrating priority rights is placed on the petitioner here since the respondent/registrant can rely on its certificate of registration for prima facie evidence of the validity of the registration and continued use of the mark. See 15 U.S.C. § 1057(b)….” Cerveceria Centroamericana S.A. v. Cerveceria India Inc., 892 F.2d 1021, 13 USPQ2d 1307, 1309 (Fed. Cir. 1989) quoted in NT-MDT LLC v. Kozodaeva, 2021 USPQ2d 433, *13 (TTAB 2021). The respondent is entitled to rely on its filing date of the application since it matured to a registration as a constructive use date. See our web page entitled, Priority Determinations in Trademark Law, Constructive Use Priority for more on this topic.

The respondent’s priority date is October 6, 2014. To establish priority, the petitioner must show proprietary rights in the mark that produce a likelihood of confusion. Otto Roth & Co. v. Universal Foods Corp., 640 F.2d 1317, 1320, 209 USPQ 40, 43 (CCPA 1981). The petitioner can prove prior rights in several ways: (1) prior common law trademark use; (2) through a prior registration; (3) prior use as a trade name; (4) prior use analogous to trademark use; or (5) any other use that can establish proprietary rights. See Herbko Int’l Inc. v. Kappa Books Inc., 308 F.3d 1156, 64 USPQ2d 1375, 1378 (Fed. Cir. 2002) cited in DeVivo v. Ortiz, 2020 USPQ2d 10153. Also, see our web page entitled, Priority Determinations Based on Common Law to learn more about how to prove priority rights without a trademark registration. Typically, the petitioner must prove priority by a preponderance of evidence.

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In a recent decision from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”), a Cancellation Petition is denied on all grounds. Both parties are claiming rights to the same mark for use with a magazine. The subject mark is THE NATIONAL POLICE GAZETTE & Design Logo, and the Petitioner’s grounds for cancellation included: (1) priority and likelihood of confusion; (2) no use of the mark at the time the application was filed; (3) abandonment; (4) false suggestion of a connection; (5) deceptiveness; (6) the registration is misrepresenting the source of the services; and (7) fraud. The Petitioner was not successful in proving any of its claims. See Steven Westlake v. Edgar Alexander Barrera and Richard K. Fox Publishing Company, Cancellation No. 92067884 (June 10, 2022).

Since the registration was more than five years old, Petitioner could not challenge based on priority and likelihood of confusion, nor on the claim of no use at the time of filing the application. See In re USA Warriors Ice Hockey Program, Inc., 122 USPQ2d 1790, 1793 (TTAB 2017) (registration more than five years old is immune to attack on likelihood of confusion grounds). See also, Maids to Order of Ohio, Inc. v. Maid-to-Order, Inc., 78 USPQ2d 1899, 1906 (TTAB 2006) (registration more than five years old may not be challenged on the ground that the mark was not used in commerce at the time of application filing). See our web page entitled, Challenging Trademark Rights After Five Years of Registration at the TTAB, for the specific claims that can be asserted once a trademark registration is five years old. Various other grounds were denied because the Petitioner only argued the claims of abandonment and fraud in his brief, so the Board only considered those claims.

Regarding the claim of abandonment, the Petitioner argued that the Respondent hadn’t used its trademark in commerce since December 31, 2013. As evidence of non-use, the Petitioner stated that an online search for the magazine on April 14, 2019, returned a “404 Not Found” page message. In response, the Respondent submitted declarations each declaring that the specimens attached to the Declaration of Use respectively on January 29, 2016, and on the February 3, 2020, were authentic. Respondent further alleged that on each respective date that submissions were made to the USPTO, he was using the mark in Class 16 on all the goods listed and the same could be said for class 41, Respondent was using the mark on all services listed and submitted acceptable specimens consisting of advertisements and magazine covers. Based on this evidence the Board concluded that the mark was not abandoned. See our web page entitled, Abandonment and Nonuse of Trademark, for more information on this topic.

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If you are an owner of either a supplemental registration or of common law rights, and you are challenging another party before the TTAB based on priority and likelihood of confusion, you would face similar hurdles. Only a trademark registration on the principal register will receive all the rights provided by the Trademark Act of 1946. A Principal Registration is entitled to: (1) constructive notice to the public of the registrants claim of ownership; (2) a legal presumption of ownership of the mark and of the exclusive rights to use the mark in commerce for the goods and services listed in the registration; (3) a date of constructive use of the mark as of the filing date of the application; (4) the ability to bring an action concerning the mark in federal court and to rely on the presumptions of ownership and exclusive right to use; and (5) acquiring “incontestable” status for the goods and services identified in the application, subject to certain statutory defenses.

There are additional rights granted to marks on the Principal Register, but the ones listed above apply only to marks on the principal register and not to marks on the supplemental register. The additional rights which apply both to the principal and supplemental register include: (1) use of the registration symbol ® with the mark; (2) filing suit in federal court for infringement, but note that the owner of the supplemental registration must prove it owns a proprietary interest in the mark by showing the mark has acquired secondary meaning before the adverse party’s priority date; (3) protection against registration of a confusingly similar mark under the Trademark Act, but marks on the principal register will receive broad protection while marks on the supplemental register will generally receive narrow protection based on how descriptive the mark is for the identified goods and services; and (4) the registration can be used as a basis for filing in a foreign country under the Paris Convention and other international agreements.

Regarding challenges before the Board (aka TTAB), the owner of a supplemental registration will have standing to oppose, but will still have to prove secondary meaning/acquired distinctiveness. Since marks on the supplemental register are presumed to be merely descriptive, evidence of secondary meaning must be submitted to the TTAB. If such evidence is not submitted, the Board will find against the owner of the supplemental registration and dismiss the notice of opposition with prejudice. See Otter Products LLC, v. BaseOneLabs LLC, 105 USPQ2d 1252 (TTAB 2012).

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American University (“Petitioner”), a college located in Washington, DC filed a petition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board” or “TTAB”) to cancel the mark AUK American University Of Kuwait & Design for educational services for college level courses. The grounds for cancellation were likelihood of confusion and priority, and nonuse, and counterclaims were asserted by American University of Kuwait (“Respondent”). The Petitioner owns several trademark registrations, including formatives of the mark American University where acquired distinctiveness is claimed.

These registrations were pleaded in the cancellation petition, including American University (standard characters) and AU (standard characters and a stylized mark) for educational services, namely courses of instruction on the college and graduate level. The Board did not decide the likelihood of confusion issue since it determined that the Respondent failed to use its mark “in commerce” prior to its application filing date. Thus, the TTAB determined that the mark AUK American University Of Kuwait & Design was void ab initio. See American University v. American University of Kuwait, Cancellation No. 92049706 (January 30, 2020) [not precedential].

This was a very lengthy decision by the Board. This blog will discuss only some of the many legal issues addressed in the Board’s decision. Regarding nonuse, if a use based application matures to a registration, it can still be challenged for nonuse. If an applicant files a use based application and fails to use the mark “in commerce” before the filing date of the application with any of the alleged services in a particular international classification, the entire class of goods will be held void ab initio. See Couture v. Playdom, Inc., 778 F.3d 1379, 113 USPQ2d 2042, 2043 (Fed. Cir. 2015); Aycock Eng’g, Inc. v. Airflite, Inc., 560 F.3d 1350, 90 USPQ2d 1301, 1305 (Fed. Cir. 2009). See also, our blog posts entitled, Proving Nonuse Of A Trademark Prior To The Application Filing and Trademarks Can Be Cancelled For Nonuse, for more on this topic. If the mark is a service mark then, “use in commerce” must include: (1) use of the mark in the sale or advertising of the services; and (2) rendering of the services in a manner that it impacts interstate commerce, rendering the services in more than one state in the U.S. or in the U.S. and in a foreign country.

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In a recent Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) decision the Board granted the petition in part for partial cancellation for the mark POLO GIRL for the following services, “[e]ntertainment in the nature of ongoing television programs in the field of polo sports events, and polo lifestyle in International Class 41”. See  American Polo Association, LLC v. Elizabeth Scripps, Cancellation No. 92066032 (December 19, 2019) [not precedential]. However, the Board held the Respondent did not abandon the mark for organizing and conducting polo events for fund raising, even though there was two years on nonuse. The Board held that the Petitioner did not prove that the Respondent had intent not to resume use for the organizing and conducting of polo events.

The Petitioner alleged that the Respondent did not use the mark for the subject services prior to filing the use application or in the alternative abandoned its rights after the filing of the trademark application. It was proven that the Respondent had not used the mark prior to the filing date (March 3, 2011) for an ongoing television program for polo sports events. Prior to the filing date, the Respondent had produced three videos on the subject matter in hopes of it leading to a television series. Two of the three videos were posted on Facebook® and YouTube®.

The three videos did not constitute ongoing television programing. It was not broadcast over the air or via cable, only the Internet. The three videos were not part of an ongoing program aired on television. Plus, there was no dialogue on the first two videos and none of the three videos were connected to each other. Thus, the petition to cancel as to “entertainment in the nature of ongoing television programs in the field of polo sports events, and polo lifestyle” was granted.

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Section 18 of the Trademark Act (15 U.S.C. §1068) provides a plaintiff with a basis to restrict or limit the goods or services in a registration based on grounds of likelihood of confusion. Section 18 applies to inter partes proceedings. It is unclear as to whether Section 18 would also apply in civil actions. A recent case coming out of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia held that Section 18 would not apply in court. Here, the court dismissed a counterclaim under Section 18, finding no legal basis for applying Section 18 to civil actions.

In Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) proceedings, a plaintiff can seek to restrict the application to only certain goods or services or to limit the identification in a specific manner, by adding wording that identifies the goods or services with greater particularity in terms of type, use or channels of trade. This request can be made of registrations over five years old and of those less than five years old. The reason for this is because it is considered an equitable remedy. A plaintiff can seek to oppose or cancel a registration in whole or in part, see Trademark Manual of Examining Procedure §309.03(a)(1).

The plaintiff must plead and prove that (1) amending the identification to restrict the goods and services in the application or registration will avoid a finding of likelihood of confusion and (2) the opponent is not using its mark on those goods or services that will be excluded from the application or registration. See Eurostar Inc. v. Euro-Star Reitmoden GmbH & Co. KG, 34 USPQ2d 1266, 1271 (TTAB 1994). A claim such as this falls under the provision that gives the Board authority to restrict or rectify the register. See IdeasOne Inc. v. Nationwide Better Health Inc., 89 USPQ2d 1952, (TTAB 2009)[precedential]; Wellcome Foundation Ltd. v. Merck & Co., 46 USPQ2d 1478 (TTAB 1998). To make this determination, the Board will look to see if the defendant is using the mark on the goods requested to be excluded as of the time the restriction is requested, (not as of the time the registration was sought). A plaintiff could plead that the description in the application or registration is ambiguous or overly broad and not specific to the mark actually used by the defendant, and that the limitation would obviate a determination of likelihood of confusion.

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A recent case from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board” or “TTAB”) focuses attention on part of the Lanham Act, which is not often the subject of many Board Decisions. Section 2(c) prohibits registration of a mark if it consists of or comprises a name, portrait, or signature identifying a particular living individual without written consent,  Lanham Act §2(c) , 15 U.S.C. §1052(c). The applicant filed an application to register the trademark MANIKCHAND for tobacco. The opposer, (a corporation formed under the law of India) cited Section 2(c) of the Lanham Act, stating MANIKCHAND is the personal name of the founder of the opposer, Rasiklal Manikchand Dhariwal, and there is no consent to use the name. See, M/S R.M. Dhariwal (HUF) 100% EOU v. Zarda King Ltd. and Global Technology & Trade Marks Limited, Opposition No. 91231033 (April 26, 2019) [precedential].

Opposer argues that consumers in the United States refer to Rasiklal Manikchand Dhariwal as the Manikchand Group. The opposer pleaded ownership of an application for MANIKCHAND GUTKA for chewing tobacco. Regarding standing for a 2(c) claim, this may be established by asserting facts that that show that opposer is a competitor of the applicant and has a right to use the subject name. Opposer testified that MANIKCHAND has been used in connection with tobacco products in the U.S, and that some U.S. vendors sell it under the mark RMD MANIKCHAND. The registrability of a mark is determined on the basis of facts that exist at the time the issue is under consideration (i.e. throughout the pendency of ex parte and inter party proceedings). In re Thunderbird Prods Corp., 406 F.2d 1389, 160 USPQ 730 (CCPA 1969).

The rationale behind 2(c) is that the law wants to extend protection to living individuals so they can commercially exploit their names, and this is why written consent is required. To sufficiently allege a 2(c) claim, a plaintiff must allege that the mark consists of the name, likeness, image or signature of a particular individual. In addition, a plaintiff must have pleaded that the individual is so well known that the public would reasonably assume a connection between the mark and the individual or that the individual is publicly connected with the business or the field for the goods and services, so that the connection would be assumed.

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This recent precedential decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB” or the “Board”) cautions applicants to be in a position to show documentary proof contemporaneous with the trademark filing date that there was a bona fide intent for use of the proposed mark. See A&H Sportswear Co., Inc. v. William W. Yedor, 2019 USPQ2d 111513 (TTAB 2019) [precedential]. See our firm page entitled, How Does An Applicant Prove A Bona Fide Intent To Use A Trademark, for more information on this topic. The applicant was seeking to register MIRACLE ON 35TH STREET in standard characters for printed matter, photographs, posters, etc. and clothing. The matter comes to the TTAB from a Notice of Opposition filed by A&H Sportswear Co., (“Opposer”) Inc. on the grounds of priority and likelihood of confusion and dilution by blurring. Opposer pleaded 15 registrations for the mark MIRACLE for various apparel. Opposer simultaneously filed for summary judgment and to amend its pleadings to add a claim for no bona fide intent to use the mark in commerce.

Under Section 528.07(a) of Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Procedure (“TBMP”), a party can seek summary judgment on an unpleaded claim if they simultaneously move to amend the pleadings to include that claim. The TTAB liberally grants leave to amend pleadings if justice so requires it, unless the amendment to the pleadings would violate case law or prejudice one of the parties. Six weeks after receiving the last of the written discovery, opposer moved to amend the pleadings. Applicant did not produce any evidence that the delay would prejudice his rights, likely because the documents needed to defend the claim were in the applicant’s possession. Leave to amend the pleadings was granted.

To show that a party has a bona fide intent to use the mark in commerce, there has to be an objective determination based on a totality of the circumstances. The absence of documentary evidence regarding an applicant’s bona fide intent to use the trademark in commerce establishes a prima facie case that the applicant lacks the intention required under trademark law. The applicant produced one image of a prototype of a T-shirt as a response to a request for production of documents. The applicant couldn’t identify documents that showed use of the mark on the goods in commerce. The applicant couldn’t identify any retail shops, distributors, or resellers that would offer the goods with the trademark; nor could he produce a business or marketing plan associated with the branded apparel or other printed goods. Lastly, there was no evidence of any websites that displayed the goods or intended to display or sell the goods in the future.

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