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United States Annual Review the Sixty-Eighth Year of Administration of the Lanham Act of 1946 Theodore H United States Annual Review The Sixty-Eighth Year of Administration of the Lanham Act of 1946 Theodore H. Davis Jr. John L. Welch January–February, 2016 Vol. 106 No. 1 INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK ASSOCIATION Powerful Network Powerful Brands 655 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017-5646 Telephone: +1 (212) 768-9887 email: [email protected] Facsimile: +1 (212) 768-7796 OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION RONALD VAN TUIJL .................................................................................................................. President JOSEPH FERRETTI ...........................................................................................................President Elect TISH L. BERARD .............................................................................................................. Vice President DAVID LOSSIGNOL ........................................................................................................... Vice President AYALA DEUTSCH ..................................................................................................................... Treasurer TIKI DARE ............................................................................................................................... Secretary MAURY TEPPER ........................................................................................................................ Counsel ETIENNE SANZ DE ACEDO ................................................................................... Chief Executive Officer The Trademark Reporter Committee EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, CHAIR STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF KATHLEEN E. MCCARTHY MOLLY STECH Senior Editors NEIL WILKOF JESSICA ELLIOTT CARDON RUTH CORBIN GLENN MITCHELL ELISABETH KASZNAR FEKETE RAFFI V. ZEROUNIAN FABRIZIO MIAZZETTO PAMELA CHESTEK CHIKAKO MORI Staff Editor Staff Editor BEVERLY HARRIS JOEL L. BROMBERG Editors TSAN ABRAHAMSON ANN LAMPORT HAMMITTE AMANDA NYE MARIA BARATTA GUY HEATH JENIFER DEWOLF PAINE MARTIN J. BERAN ANNE HIARING HOCKING JEREMY B. PENNANT DANIEL R. BERESKIN JANET L. HOFFMAN NEAL PLATT STEFANIA BERGIA GANG HU MICHIEL RIJSDIJK LANNING BRYER DOMINIC HUI RACHEL RUDENSKY SHELDON BURSHTEIN AHMAD HUSSEIN JEREMY SCHACHTER IRENE CALBOLI BRUCE ISAACSON MATTHEW R. SCHANTZ ROBERT CAMERON AGLIKA IVANOVA MARTIN SCHWIMMER JANE F. COLLEN E. DEBORAH JAY JENNIFER SICKLER THEODORE H. DAVIS JR. FENGTAO JIANG AARON SILVERSTEIN ANNE DESMOUSSEAUX HE JING ALEX SIMONSON MEGHAN DILLON MARIA JOSE JIRON GIULIO ENRICO SIRONI THOMAS F. DUNN SIEGRUN D. KANE DEBBIE SKLAR SCOT DUVALL SUSAN J. KERI WENDI E. SLOANE CLAUS M. ECKHARTT MIKE KEYES JERRE B. SWANN, JR. SHEJA EHTESHAM ROLAND KUNZE SCOTT THOMPSON KAREN L. ELBURG JOI MICHELLE LAKES CHINASA UWANNA MATTHEW EZELL SCOTT LEBSON ANJALI VALSANGKAR NEMESIO FERNANDEZ-PACHECO NELS LIPPERT EDWARD E. VASSALLO SALVADOR FERRANDIS MARCUS LUEPKE MARTIN VIEFHUES ALFRED FRAWLEY VINCENT MARTELL CHARLES WEBSTER ALEX GARENS J. THOMAS MCCARTHY JORDAN WEINSTEIN ALEXANDRA GEORGE NANCY A. MILLER JOHN L. WELCH DANIEL GLAZER JOHN M. MURPHY JOSEPH WELCH ANDREW J. GRAY IV PAUL MUSSELL BRYAN K. WHEELOCK LESLEY MCCALL GROSSBERG SADAF NAKHAEI JOSEPH YANG SAURABH NANDREKAR Advisory Board MILES J. ALEXANDER ROBERT M. KUNSTADT ROBERT L. RASKOPF WILLIAM M. BORCHARD THEODORE C. MAX PASQUALE A. RAZZANO CLIFFORD W. BROWNING JONATHAN MOSKIN SUSAN REISS LANNING G. BRYER VINCENT N. PALLADINO PIER LUIGI RONCAGLIA SANDRA EDELMAN JOHN B. PEGRAM HOWARD J. SHIRE ANTHONY L. FLETCHER ALLAN S. PILSON JERRE B. SWANN, SR. ARTHUR J. GREENBAUM STEVEN M. WEINBERG 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 Trademark Association, 655 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017-5646 USA. INTA, the INTA logo, International Trademark Association, Powerful Network Powerful Brands, THE TRADEMARK REPORTER®, and inta.org are trademarks, service marks and/or registered trademarks of the International Trademark Association in the United States and certain other jurisdictions. The Trademark Reporter® (USPS 636-080) Copyright 2016, by the International Trademark Association All Rights Reserved Vol. 106 January–February, 2016 No. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS UNITED STATES ANNUAL REVIEW The Sixty-Eighth Year of Administration of the Lanham Act of 1946 Theodore H. Davis Jr. and John L. Welch Introduction ...................................................................................... 1 Part I. Ex Parte Cases ................................................................ 10 A. United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit .......... 10 1. Section 2(a) Disparagement ................................................ 10 2. Section 2(d) Likelihood of Confusion .................................. 12 3. Section 2(e)(1) Mere Descriptiveness ................................. 14 4. Section 2(e)(2) Primarily Geographically Descriptive ........ 15 5. Genericness ......................................................................... 17 B. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ......................................... 18 1. Section 2(a) Disparagement ................................................ 18 2. Section 2(a) False Association ............................................ 20 3. Section 2(a) Immoral or Scandalous ................................... 22 4. Section 2(c) Consent to Register ......................................... 24 5. Section 2(d) Likelihood of Confusion .................................. 25 a. Likelihood of Confusion Not Found .............................. 25 6. Section 2(e)(1) Mere Descriptiveness ................................. 28 7. Section 2(f) Acquired Distinctiveness ................................. 30 This issue of THE TRADEMARK REPORTER® (TMR) should be cited as 106 TMR ___ (2016). 8. Genericness ......................................................................... 32 9. Failure to Function/Unacceptable Specimen of Use .......... 34 10. Failure to Verify Application .............................................. 40 11. Primacy of Statute Over Internal Examination Procedures ........................................................................... 41 12. Request for Remand versus Request for Reconsideration . 42 Part II. Inter Partes Cases .......................................................... 45 A. United States Supreme Court .................................................. 45 1. Issue Preclusion .................................................................. 45 B. United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit .......... 47 1. Section 2(d) Likelihood of Confusion .................................. 47 a. Likelihood of Confusion Not Found .............................. 47 2. Genericness ......................................................................... 48 3. Lack of Bona Fide Intent .................................................... 50 4. Service Mark Use ................................................................ 54 5. Cause of Action for Cancellation ........................................ 54 C. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ......................................... 56 1. Section 2(a) Disparagement ................................................ 56 2. Section 2(d) Likelihood of Confusion .................................. 58 a. Likelihood of Confusion Found ..................................... 58 b. Likelihood of Confusion Not Found .............................. 64 3. Dilution by Blurring ........................................................... 66 4. Fraud ................................................................................... 72 5. Genericness ......................................................................... 74 6. Ownership ........................................................................... 76 7. Laches ................................................................................. 78 8. Procedural Issues ................................................................ 81 a. Cure of Defective Signature on Notice of Opposition ..................................................................... 81 b. Proper Pleading of Registrations .................................. 83 c. Amendment of Opposition to Section 66(a) Application .................................................................... 85 d. Expert Witnesses and Expert Reports .......................... 88 9. Discovery and Motion Practice ........................................... 93 a. Motion to Dismiss Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) ......................................................... 93 b. Motion for Sanctions ..................................................... 95 c. Motion for a Protective Order ....................................... 98 d. Motion to Strike Notice of Reliance Evidence ............ 100 Part III. Litigation i n the Federal Courts a nd State Courts of General Jurisdiction ..................................................... 102 A. Infringement, Unfair Competition, and Related Torts .......... 102 1. Establishing Liability ....................................................... 102 a. Violations of Trademark and Service Mark Rights .... 102 i. Defining Claimed Marks ....................................... 102 ii. Establishing Protectable Rights............................ 106 (A) The Effect of Registrations on the Mark- Validity Inquiry .............................................. 106 (1) The Effect of Federal Registrations ......... 106 (2) The Effect of State Registrations ............
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