Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/14pdf/13-352_c0n2.pdf
Page Number: 8

Cite as:  575 U. S. ____ (2015) 

5 

Opinion of the Court 

party opposing registration bears the burden of proof, see 
§2.116(b),  and  if  that  burden  cannot  be  met,  the  opposed 
mark must be registered, see 15 U. S. C. §1063(b). 

The primary way in which TTAB proceedings differ from 
ordinary  civil  litigation  is  that  “proceedings  before  the
Board are conducted in writing, and the Board’s actions in 
a particular case are based upon the written record therein.” 
TTAB  Manual  §102.03.    In  other  words,  there  is  no  live 
testimony.  Even  so,  the  TTAB  allows  parties  to  submit
transcribed  testimony,  taken  under  oath  and  subject  to 
cross-examination,  and  to  request  oral  argument.    See  37 
CFR §§2.123, 2.129.

When  a  party  opposes  registration  because  it  believes 
the  mark  proposed  to  be  registered  is  too  similar  to  its 
own, the TTAB evaluates likelihood of confusion by apply-
ing  some  or  all  of  the  13  factors  set  out  in  In  re  E.  I. 
DuPont  DeNemours  &  Co.,  476  F.  2d  1357  (CCPA  1973).
After  the  TTAB  decides  whether  to  register  the  mark,  a 
party can seek review in the U. S. Court of Appeals for the 
Federal Circuit, or it can file a new action in district court. 
See  15  U. S. C.  §1071.    In  district  court,  the  parties  can 
conduct additional discovery and the judge resolves regis-
tration  de  novo.  §1071(b);  see  also  3  McCarthy  §21:20
(explaining differences between the forums); cf. Kappos v. 
Hyatt,  566  U. S.  ___  (2012)  (de novo  review  for  analogous
scheme in patent law). 

The Lanham Act, of course, also creates a federal cause 
of  action  for  trademark  infringement.    The  owner  of  a 
mark, whether registered or not, can bring suit in federal 
court if another is using a mark that too closely resembles
the  plaintiff ’s.  The  court  must  decide  whether  the  de-
fendant’s  use  of  a  mark  in  commerce  “is  likely  to  cause 
confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive” with regards
to the plaintiff ’s mark.  See 15 U. S. C. §1114(1)(a) (regis-
tered  marks);  §1125(a)(1)(A)  (unregistered  marks).    In 
infringement litigation, the district court considers the full