Tag: TTAB
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Fuente v. Vaporous: Federal Circuit Holds Mark Similarity Can Control the DuPont Analysis
The Federal Circuit’s decision in Fuente Marketing Ltd. v. Vaporous Technologies, LLC, Case No. 24-1460 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 8, 2026), offers a useful reminder that trademark disputes are not scored by tallying factors. Even where most of the DuPont factors favor likelihood of confusion, a sufficiently strong distinction between the marks themselves can still control…
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Game Plan v. Uninterrupted IP: Assignments During Litigation Can Still Win Priority—If the Goodwill Comes Along
The Federal Circuit’s decision in Game Plan, Inc. v. Uninterrupted IP, LLC, Appeal No. 2024-1407 (Dec. 10, 2025), offers a pointed reminder that trademark priority disputes often turn less on lofty equitable arguments and more on procedural discipline and the fundamentals of goodwill transfer. The court affirmed the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s cancellation of…
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In re Bayou Grande Coffee Roasting Co.: When a Beverage Name Is Neither Generic Nor Descriptive
On December 9, 2025, the Federal Circuit issued a sharp rebuke to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s refusal to register the mark KAHWA for café and coffee shop services. In In re Bayou Grande Coffee Roasting Co., No. 2024-1118 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 9, 2025), the court reversed the Board’s findings of genericness and mere…
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Apex Bank v. CC Serve Corp.: When “Highly Similar” Means Consistently Similar Across the DuPont Factors
The Federal Circuit’s September 25, 2025 decision in Apex Bank v. CC Serve Corp. offers an important reminder that the DuPont likelihood-of-confusion factors are not a cafeteria menu. Once the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board makes a factual determination that services are “highly similar” under one factor, it cannot quietly narrow that conclusion when analyzing…
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In re Brunetti: Failure to Function Gets an APA Tune-Up from the Federal Circuit
The Federal Circuit’s decision in In re Brunetti, No. 23-1539 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 26, 2025), sits at the uneasy intersection of trademark doctrine, administrative law, and cultural ubiquity. At issue was whether the word “FUCK,” sought to be registered in standard characters for a range of consumer goods and retail services, fails to function as…
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Sunkist v. Intrastate Distributors: When “Kissed” Isn’t Enough to Avoid Confusion
The Federal Circuit’s July 23, 2025 decision in Sunkist Growers, Inc. v. Intrastate Distributors, Inc., No. 24-1212, offers a crisp reminder that the TTAB cannot lean too heavily on isolated snippets of marketing material to infer the “commercial impression” of a trademark. In reversing the Board’s dismissal of Sunkist’s opposition to the KIST word mark…
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Curtin v. United Trademark Holdings, Inc.: No Standing for Consumers to Oppose Trademark Registrations Absent Commercial Interest
In Curtin v. United Trademark Holdings, Inc., No. 23-2140 (Fed. Cir. May 22, 2025), the Federal Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a consumer’s opposition to a trademark registration, holding that an individual lacking a commercial interest does not have statutory standing under 15 U.S.C. § 1063 to oppose trademark registration. Applying the Lexmark zone-of-interests and…
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In re: Vetements Group AG — Generic Foreign Terms Cannot Serve as Trademarks
In In re: Vetements Group AG, Nos. 2023-2050, -2051 (Fed. Cir. May 21, 2025), the Federal Circuit affirmed the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (TTAB) refusal to register “VETEMENTS” as a trademark for clothing and online retail clothing store services. Applying the doctrine of foreign equivalents, the court agreed that “vetements,” the French word for…
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In re Thomas D. Foster, APC: Trademark Refusal Reinforces Timing and False Connection Analysis Under the Lanham Act
In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed the TTAB’s refusal to register the trademark “US SPACE FORCE,” emphasizing critical considerations under § 2(a) of the Lanham Act related to false suggestions of a connection. This ruling highlights the significance of timing in trademark analysis and clarifies the factors influencing determinations of false associations with…
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Heritage Alliance v. American Policy Roundtable: Descriptive Marks Without Acquired Distinctiveness Can’t Block Later Applications
In Heritage Alliance v. American Policy Roundtable, No. 24-1155 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 9, 2025), the Federal Circuit affirmed the TTAB’s refusal to block registration of “iVoters” and “iVoters.com” despite evidence of earlier use of “iVoterGuide” and “iVoterGuide.com” by the challenger. The court agreed with the Board that Heritage’s marks were highly descriptive and had not…