United States Annual Review

486 Pages·2015·4.35 MB·English

United States
Annual Review
The Sixty-Seventh Year of Administration
of the Lanham Act of 1946
Theodore H. Davis Jr.
John L. Welch
January–February, 2015 Vol. 105 No. 1
INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK ASSOCIATION
Powerful Network Powerful Brands
655 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017-5646
Telephone: [phone] email: [email protected] Facsimile: [phone]
OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION
J. SCOTT EVANS ..................................................................................................................... President
RONALD VAN TUIJL ..........................................................................................................President Elect
JOSEPH FERRETTI ........................................................................................ Vice President & Secretary
TISH L. BERARD .............................................................................................................. Vice President
DAVID LOSSIGNOL ................................................................................................................... Treasurer
DAVID FLEMING ......................................................................................................................... Counsel
ETIENNE SANZ DE ACEDO ................................................................................... Chief Executive Officer

The Trademark Reporter Committee
EDITORIAL BOARD
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
JONATHAN MOSKIN
Senior Editors
JESSICA ELLIOTT GLENN MITCHELL
DANIEL C. GLAZER NEIL WILKOF
KATHLEEN E. MCCARTHY RAFFI V. ZEROUNIAN
Editor Staff Editor-in-Chief Senior Periodicals Editor
BEVERLY HARRIS LISA BUTKIEWICZ JOEL L. BROMBERG
Editors
TSAN ABRAHAMSON ANDREW J. GRAY IV FABRIZIO MIAZZETTO
HAKAN AKDAG JENNIFER LYNN GREGOR NANCY A. MILLER
FEDERICO ALVARADO MASCHA GRUNDMANN JENNIFER MILLONES
NIDHI ANAND GUY HEATH MANUEL MORANTE
BRYAN BAER HANNA KARIN HELD CHIKAKO MORI
MARIA BARATTA CHRISTINE HERNANDEZ MARIANO MUNICOY
MARTIN J. BERAN ERIN HICKEY JOHN M. MURPHY
DANIEL R. BERESKIN ANNE HIARING HOCKING PAUL MUSSELL
STEFANIA BERGIA JANET L. HOFFMAN ROBERT M. O’CONNELL
PETER BOLGER GANG HU HELENA WASSEN OESTROEM
LANNING G. BRYER HENRY W. HUFFNAGLE JENIFER DEWOLF PAINE
SHELDON BURSHTEIN DOMINIC HUI JEREMY B. PENNANT
FILIPE FONTELES CABRAL SANDRA IRIARTE SCOTT D. PHILLIPS
KATHERINE P. CALIFA PETER ISRAILOFF NEAL PLATT
LEIGHTON CASSIDY E. DEBORAH JAY SUSAN RECTOR
AI-TANG IRENE CHANG MARIA JOSE JIRON CINDY REICHELT
PAMELA CHESTEK PAUL JONES ALEXANDRA ROBERTS
SIMON CLARK SIEGRUN D. KANE DARREN W. SAUNDERS
JANE F. COLLEN KOMAL KAUL MATTHEW R. SCHANTZ
LAURENCE COLTON BISMAN KAUR MARTIN PETER SCHMIDT
JOHN M. CONE LAURA KEES AARON SILVERSTEIN
RUTH CORBIN SUSAN J. KERI GIULIO ENRICO SIRONI
THEODORE H. DAVIS JR. ELIZABETH W. KING WENDI E. SLOANE
ANNE DESMOUSSEAUX DARLENE S. KLINKSIECK JERRE SWANN JR.
IGNACIO DOMINGUEZ ROLAND KUNZE PAUL TACKABERRY
REX A. DONNELLY JOI MICHELLE LAKES OLIVIER TAILLIEU
THOMAS F. DUNN ANN LAMPORT HAMMITTE CHRISTIAN THOMAS
CLAUS M. ECKHARTT SCOTT LEBSON SCOTT THOMPSON
KAREN L. ELBURG AURELIO HERNANDEZ LEHMANN CHITUA UZOH
STEPHEN W. FEINGOLD CELIA LERMAN ANJALI VALSANGKAR
ELISABETH KASZNAR FEKETE PAUL C. LLEWELLYN EDWARD E. VASSALLO
GERALD L. FORD PILAR LOPEZ MATTHEW WALCH
TARUN GANDHI MARCUS LUEPKE RITA WEEKS
ALEXANDER J.A. GARCIA MARIE LUSSIER JORDAN S. WEINSTEIN
ALEXANDRA GEORGE PAMELA MALLARI JOHN L. WELCH
SANDRA GIBBONS J. DAVID MAYBERRY BRYAN K. WHEELOCK
SZYMON GOGULSKI J. THOMAS MCCARTHY MEREDITH M. WILKES
NEIL P. MELLISHIP
Advisory Board
MILES J. ALEXANDER ARTHUR J. GREENBAUM PASQUALE A. RAZZANO
WILLIAM M. BORCHARD ROBERT M. KUNSTADT SUSAN REISS
CLIFFORD W. BROWNING THEODORE C. MAX PIER LUIGI RONCAGLIA
LANNING G. BRYER VINCENT N. PALLADINO HOWARD J. SHIRE
SANDRA EDELMAN JOHN B. PEGRAM JERRE B. SWANN SR.
ANTHONY L. FLETCHER ALLAN S. PILSON STEVEN M. WEINBERG
ROBERT L. RASKOPF

The views expressed in The Trademark Reporter are those of the individual authors.
The Trademark Reporter (ISSN 0041-056X) is published electronically six times a year by the International
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Copyright 2015, by the International Trademark Association
All Rights Reserved
Vol. 105 January–February, 2015 No. 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNITED STATES ANNUAL REVIEW
The Sixty-Seventh Year of Administration of the
Lanham Act of 1946
Theodore H. Davis Jr. and John L. Welch
Introduction .................................................................................. 1
Part I. Ex Parte Cases ........................................................... 7
A. United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ....... 7
1. Section 2(a) Disparagement ............................................. 7
2. Section 2(b) Governmental Insignia ................................ 8
B. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ...................................... 11
1. Section 2(a) Disparagement ............................................. 11
2. Section 2(a) Deceptiveness............................................... 13
3. Section 2(a) False Association ......................................... 14
4. Section 2(a) Immoral or Scandalous ................................ 17
5. Section 2(c) Consent to Register ...................................... 19
6. Section 2(d) Likelihood of Confusion ............................... 21
a. Likelihood of Confusion Found ................................... 21
b. Likelihood of Confusion Not Found ............................ 25
7. Section 2(e)(1) Mere Descriptiveness .............................. 26
8. Section 2(e)(1) Deceptive Misdescriptiveness .................. 30
9. Section 2(e)(2) Primarily Geographically Descriptive ..... 31
10. Genericness ...................................................................... 32

This issue of THE TRADEMARK REPORTER® (TMR) should be cited as 105 TMR ___ (2015).
11. Failure to Function/Unacceptable Specimen of Use ....... 34
12. Proper Identification of Goods/Classification .................. 37
13. Failure to Comply With Rule 2.61(b) Requirement for
Information ...................................................................... 42
14. Effect of Statements Made in File History of Cited
Registration ...................................................................... 42
Part II. Inter Partes Cases ..................................................... 44
A. United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ....... 44
1. Section 2(d) Likelihood of Confusion ............................... 44
a. Likelihood of Confusion Found ................................... 44
2. Collateral Estoppel .......................................................... 45
B. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ...................................... 48
1. Section 2(d) Likelihood of Confusion ............................... 48
a. Likelihood of Confusion Found ................................... 48
b. Likelihood of Confusion Not Found ............................ 58
2. Section 2(e)(1) Mere Descriptiveness .............................. 65
3. Dilution by Blurring ........................................................ 69
4. Fraud ................................................................................ 71
5. Lack of Bona Fide Intent ................................................. 74
6. Nonuse .............................................................................. 77
7. Genericness ...................................................................... 79
8. Functionality .................................................................... 83
a. Utilitarian Functionality ............................................ 83
9. Assignment in Violation of Section 10 ............................. 86
10. Cancellation Due to Misrepresentation of Source ........... 90
11. Cancellation Due to Non-Ownership of Foreign
Counterpart Registration ................................................ 92
12. Concurrent Use ................................................................ 94
13. Section 18 Restrict or Rectification of a Registration ..... 99
14. Procedural Issues ............................................................. 101
a. Section 18 Rectification of a Color Registration ......... 101
b. Rule 2.133 Amendment of an Opposed Application ... 102
c. Assignability of Extension of Time to Oppose ............ 103
d. Board Discretion to Decline to Hear Claim ................ 105
e. Vacatur due to Mootness ............................................. 107
f. Mootness of Cancellation Counterclaim ..................... 108
15. Discovery and Motion Practice ........................................ 109
a. Motion for Sanctions for Failure to Attend
Discovery Conference .................................................. 109
b. Motion for a Protective Order ..................................... 111
c. Motion to Compel Discovery ....................................... 113
d. Motion to Dismiss Under Rule 2.132 .......................... 114
e. Motion to Strike Trial Evidence .................................. 117
f. Motion to Strike Deposition on Written Questions .... 119
Part III. Litigation in the Federal Courts and States
Courts of General Jurisdiction .................................. 121
A. Infringement, Unfair Competition, and Related Torts ......... 121
1. Establishing Liability ...................................................... 121
a. Violations of Trademark and Service Mark Rights .... 121
i. The Proper Subjects of Trademark Rights ......... 121
ii. Establishing Protectable Rights ......................... 123
(A) The Effect of Federal Registrations on the
Mark-Validity Inquiry ................................. 123
(B) The Common-Law Requirements for
Mark Validity ............................................... 125
(1) Use in Commerce ................................... 125
(a) The Nature and Quantity of Use
in Commerce Necessary to
Establish Protectable Rights ........... 126
(b) Use in Commerce Through
Tacking ............................................. 131
(c) Use-Based Geographic Rights .......... 135
(2) Distinctiveness ....................................... 140
(a) Distinctiveness of Verbal and
Two-Dimensional Design Marks ...... 140
(i) Generic Designations .............. 140
(ii) Descriptive Marks ................... 141
(iii) Suggestive Marks .................... 143
(iv) Arbitrary Marks ...................... 145
(v) Coined or Fanciful Marks ....... 146
(b) Distinctiveness of Nontraditional
Marks ................................................ 148
(c) Acquired Distinctiveness.................. 152
(i) Opinions Finding Acquired
Distinctiveness ........................ 152
(ii) Opinions Declining to Find
Acquired Distinctiveness ......... 159
(iii) Opinions Deferring
Resolution of the Acquired-
Distinctiveness Inquiry ........... 164
(3) Nonfunctionality .................................... 167
(a) Utilitarian Nonfunctionality ............ 167
(b) Aesthetic Nonfunctionality .............. 173
iii. Establishing Liability for Violations of
Trademark and Service Mark Rights ................. 174
(A) Actionable Uses in Commerce by
Defendants ................................................... 174
(1) Opinions Finding Actionable Uses in
Commerce ............................................... 175
(2) Opinions Declining to Find Actionable
Uses in Commerce .................................. 177
(3) Opinions Deferring Resolution of the
Use-in-Commerce Inquiry ...................... 178
(B) Likelihood of Confusion ............................... 179
(1) The Standard Multifactored Test for
Likelihood of Confusion ......................... 179
(a) Factors Considered ........................... 179
(i) The First Circuit ...................... 179
(ii) The Second Circuit .................. 179
(iii) The Third Circuit .................... 180
(iv) The Fourth Circuit .................. 181
(v) The Fifth Circuit ..................... 181
(vi) The Sixth Circuit ..................... 182
(vii) The Seventh Circuit ................ 182
(viii) The Eighth Circuit .................. 182
(ix) The Ninth Circuit .................... 183
(x) The Tenth Circuit .................... 183
(xi) The Eleventh Circuit ............... 184
(xii) The District of Columbia
Circuit ...................................... 184
(b) Findings and Holdings ..................... 185
(i) Opinions Finding Likelihood
of Confusion on Motions for
Preliminary Injunctive Relief.. 185
(ii) Opinions Finding Likelihood
of Confusion as a Matter of
Law .......................................... 190
(iii) Opinions Finding Likelihood
of Confusion After Trial .......... 193
(iv) Opinions Deferring
Resolution of the Likelihood-
of-Confusion Inquiry ............... 196
(v) Opinions Finding No
Likelihood of Confusion on
Motions for Preliminary
Injunctive Relief ...................... 203
(vi) Opinions Finding No
Likelihood of Confusion as a
Matter of Law .......................... 206
(vii) Opinions Finding No
Likelihood of Confusion After
Trial ......................................... 221
(2) The First-Sale Doctrine and Likelihood
of Confusion Arising from the
Diversion or Alteration of Genuine
Goods ...................................................... 223
(3) Survey Evidence of Actual or Likely
Confusion ............................................... 225
(C) Liability for the Trafficking in Goods and
Services Associated With Counterfeit
Marks ........................................................... 231
(1) Civil Liability ......................................... 231
(2) Criminal Liability .................................. 234
(D) Dilution ........................................................ 237
(1) Mark Fame and Distinctiveness ............ 237
(a) Opinions Finding Mark Fame and
Distinctiveness ................................. 237
(b) Opinions Declining to Find Mark
Fame and Distinctiveness ................ 239
(c) Opinions Deferring Resolution of
the Mark-Fame and Mark-
Distinctiveness Inquiry .................... 243
(2) Actual or Likely Dilution ....................... 244
(a) Actual or Likely Dilution by
Blurring ............................................ 244
(b) Actual or Likely Dilution by
Tarnishment ..................................... 248
(E) Cybersquatting ............................................ 250
(1) In Rem Actions ....................................... 250
(2) In Personam Actions .............................. 251
b. Passing Off and Reverse Passing Off.......................... 256
c. False Advertising ........................................................ 260
i. False Statements of Fact in Commercial
Advertising and Promotion ................................. 262
(A) Actionable Statements of Fact ..................... 262
(B) Actionable Commercial Advertising and
Promotion ..................................................... 264
(1) Opinions Finding Actionable
Commercial Advertising and
Promotion ............................................... 264
(2) Opinions Declining to Find Actionable
Advertising and Promotion .................... 266
(3) Opinions Deferring Resolution of the
Actionable-Commercial-Advertising-
and-Promotion Inquiry .......................... 268
(C) Falsity .......................................................... 269
(1) Literally False Statements of Fact ........ 269
(2) Literally True but Misleading
Statements of Fact ................................. 275
ii. Actual or Likely Deception ................................. 276
iii. Materiality .......................................................... 278
iv. Interstate Commerce .......................................... 280
v. Damage and Causation ....................................... 281
d. Other Section 43(a) Claims ......................................... 281
e. False Endorsement and Violations of the Right of
Publicity....................................................................... 283
f. Violations of Rights Under Other State-Law
Causes of Action .......................................................... 289
i. Preemption of State-Law Causes of Action ........ 289
ii. State-by-State Causes of Action ......................... 291
(A) Florida .......................................................... 291
(B) Georgia ......................................................... 291
(C) Illinois .......................................................... 292
(D) Indiana ......................................................... 292
(E) Minnesota ..................................................... 293
(F) New Hampshire ........................................... 293
(G) New York ...................................................... 294
(H) West Virginia ............................................... 296
(I) Wisconsin ..................................................... 296
g. Secondary Liability ..................................................... 297
i. Contributory Unfair Competition ....................... 297
ii. Vicarious Liability for Unfair Competition ........ 301
iii. Liability for the Unfair Competition of Agents .. 302
h. Personal and Joint-and-Several Liability ................... 302
2. Defenses ........................................................................... 304
a. Legal Defenses ............................................................ 304
i. Abandonment ...................................................... 304
(A) Nonuse ......................................................... 305
(B) Naked Licensing .......................................... 310
ii. Prior Use ............................................................. 311
iii. Descriptive Fair Use ........................................... 312
iv. Nominative Fair Use ........................................... 314
v. Innocent Printer .................................................. 318
vi. Statutes of Limitations ....................................... 318
vii. Implied License ................................................... 318
viii. Communications Decency Act ............................ 319
b. Equitable Defenses ...................................................... 320
i. Unclean Hands .................................................... 320
ii. Laches ................................................................. 322
iii. Acquiescence ....................................................... 325
iv. Estoppel ............................................................... 327
v. Waiver ................................................................. 328
3. Remedies .......................................................................... 329
a. Injunctive Relief .......................................................... 329
i. Prerequisites for Injunctive Relief ...................... 329
(A) Irreparable Harm ......................................... 329
(B) Inadequacy of Legal Remedies .................... 341
(C) Balance of Hardships ................................... 343
(D) Public Interest.............................................. 346
ii. Terms of Injunctive Relief .................................. 347
iii. Security ............................................................... 350
iv. Contempt ............................................................. 351
b. Monetary Relief ........................................................... 353
i. Damages .............................................................. 353
(A) Actual Damages ........................................... 353
(1) Eligibility of Prevailing Plaintiffs for
Awards of Actual Damages .................... 353
(2) Calculation of Actual Damages ............. 355
(B) Statutory Damages ...................................... 360
(C) Punitive Damages ........................................ 362
(D) Liquidated Damages .................................... 362
ii. Accountings of Profits ......................................... 364
(A) Eligibility of Prevailing Plaintiffs for
Accountings of Profits .................................. 364
(B) The Accounting Process ............................... 367
iii. Adjustments of Awards of Damages and
Accountings of Profits ......................................... 370
iv. Restitution ........................................................... 371
v. Pre-Judgment Interest ........................................ 372
vi. Attorneys’ Fees .................................................... 373
(A) Eligibility of Prevailing Parties for
Awards of Attorneys’ Fees ........................... 374
(1) Fee Requests by Prevailing Plaintiffs ..... 374
(2) Fee Requests by Prevailing Defendants . 379
(B) Calculation of Attorneys’ Fees ..................... 381
vii. Taxation of Costs ................................................ 384
B. The Relationship Between Courts and the United States
Patent and Trademark Office ................................................ 384
1. Judicial Review of, and Deference to, United States
Patent and Trademark Office Determinations ............... 384
2. Judicial Authority Over Federal Registrations and
Applications...................................................................... 386
C. Constitutional Matters .......................................................... 391
1. Article III Case and Controversies .................................. 391
2. The First Amendment ...................................................... 393
3. The Due Process Clause and the Full Faith and Credit
Clause ............................................................................... 406
4. The Dormant Commerce Clause ...................................... 407
D. Procedural Matters ................................................................ 407
1. Standing ........................................................................... 407
a. Opinions Finding Standing ......................................... 407
b. Opinions Declining to Find Standing ......................... 412
2. Personal Jurisdiction ....................................................... 415
a. Opinions Exercising Personal Jurisdiction ................ 416
b. Opinions Declining to Exercise Personal
Jurisdiction .................................................................. 422
c. Opinions Deferring Resolution of the Personal-
Jurisdiction Inquiry .................................................... 427
3. Federal Subject-Matter Jurisdiction ............................... 427
4. Federal Appellate Jurisdiction ........................................ 431
5. Venue................................................................................ 431
a. Opinions Finding Venue Proper ................................. 432
b. Opinions Declining to Find Venue Proper .................. 434
6. Extraterritorial Applications of the Lanham Act ............ 436
7. Claim and Issue Preclusion ............................................. 441
a. Claim Preclusion (Res Judicata) ................................. 441
b. Issue Preclusion (Collateral Estoppel) ........................ 443
8. Judicial Estoppel .............................................................. 444
9. Admissibility of Expert Witness Testimony .................... 445
10. Discovery-Related Matters .............................................. 448
11. Sanctions .......................................................................... 450