Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/703/1372/12104/
Timestamp: 2018-03-22 09:54:41
Document Index: 3040383

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1052', '§ 1052', '§ 1052', '§ 1295', '§ 1052', '§ 1052', '§ 1052', '§ 1127', '§ 1064', '§ 1052', '§ 1052']

The University of Notre Dame Du Lac, Appellant, v. J.c. Gourmet Food Imports Co., Inc., Appellee, 703 F.2d 1372 (Fed. Cir. 1983) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › Federal Circuit › 1983 › The University of Notre Dame Du Lac, Appellant, v. J.c. Gourmet Food Imports Co., Inc., Appellee
The University of Notre Dame Du Lac, Appellant, v. J.c. Gourmet Food Imports Co., Inc., Appellee, 703 F.2d 1372 (Fed. Cir. 1983)
US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit - 703 F.2d 1372 (Fed. Cir. 1983)
This appeal is from the decision of the United States Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (board) dismissing an opposition to registration of the trademark NOTRE DAME and Design for cheese, application serial No. 11,737, filed January 7, 1977.1 The board held that the mark sought to be registered was not precluded from registration under either 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a) or Sec. 1052(d), as asserted by appellant. We affirm.
Appellant is the well-known University located in Indiana. As grounds for opposition, in essence, appellant alleges that because of its prior rights in NOTRE DAME as its name and mark, the trademark NOTRE DAME should be refused registration to Gourmet under 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a) because Gourmet's mark falsely suggests a connection with the University and under 15 U.S.C. § 1052(d) because Gourmet's use of NOTRE DAME is likely to cause confusion as to source.
Appellant seeks review of the decisions of the board on both the 1052(a) and 1052(d) issues.3 Our jurisdiction is under 28 U.S.C. § 1295, amended by the Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1982, Pub. L. No. 97-164, Sec. 127, 96 Stat. 37.
The fame of the University's name is insufficient in itself to establish likelihood of confusion under Sec. 2(d). "Likely ... to cause confusion" means more than the likelihood that the public will recall a famous mark on seeing the same mark used by another. It must also be established that there is a reasonable basis for the public to attribute the particular product or service of another to the source of the goods or services associated with the famous mark. To hold otherwise would result in recognizing a right in gross, which is contrary to principles of trademark law and to the concepts embodied in 15 U.S.C. § 1052(d).
We conclude that the board correctly found, on the record here, that Gourmet's registration of NOTRE DAME for cheese was not precluded under 15 U.S.C. § 1052(d).II
The University claims, as an alternative ground for its opposition, that Gourmet's mark falsely suggests a connection with an institution and, therefore, is unregistrable under Sec. 2(a) of the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. § 1052(a)). In dismissing this claim, the board stated:
The analysis of Sec. 2(a) stated by the board began appearing in its decisions following the decision in Morehouse Manufacturing Corp. v. J. Strickland & Co., 407 F.2d 881, 160 USPQ 715 (CCPA 1969).4 In Morehouse, the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals5 had before it a question of the right of a party to register a trademark used for hair products over the objection of a prior user of a similar mark for the same type of goods. Appellant in that case had asserted both Sec. 2(a) and Sec. 2(d), as does the University here, as bases for sustaining the opposition. After dismissing the opposition under Sec. 2(d), the board had held that Sec. 2(a) was not available to a commercial corporation. The court affirmed but held that Sec. 2(a) was applicable to such an entity in view of the statutory definition of "person" in Sec. 45 (15 U.S.C. § 1127), and concluded:
In construing Sec. 2(a), we are obliged to consider the statute as a whole and the interrelationship of its various provisions. In this connection, 15 U.S.C. § 1064 (Sec. 14) is particularly pertinent. Under Sec. 14, a petition to cancel a registration of a mark is precluded after five years, except on limited grounds. Section 14(c) provides:
Although not articulated as such, it appears that the drafters sought by Sec. 2(a) to embrace concepts of the right to privacy, an area of the law then in an embryonic state.8 Our review of case law discloses that the elements of a claim of invasion of one's privacy have emerged as distinctly different from those of trademark or trade name infringement. There may be no likelihood of such confusion as to the source of goods even under a theory of "sponsorship" or "endorsement," and, nevertheless, one's right of privacy, or the related right of publicity, may be violated. See, e.g., John W. Carson v. Here's Johnny, 698 F.2d 831 (6th Cir., 1983); Stone v. Creative Communications, Inc., 216 USPQ 261 (D. Ill. 1981). It is a right of this nature, a right to control the use of one's identity, which the University also asserts under Sec. 2(a).
As the board noted, "Notre Dame" is not a name solely associated with the University. It serves to identify a famous and sacred religious figure and is used in the names of churches dedicated to Notre Dame, such as the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, France. Thus, it cannot be said that the only "person" which the name possibly identifies is the University and that the mere use of NOTRE DAME by another appropriates its identity. (See FBI v. Societe M. Bril & Co., 187 USPQ 685, 687 (D.D.C. 1975), where the court indicates that Sec. 2(a) may preclude registration where "the mark by its very nature falsely suggests a connection.") This conclusion could be changed if the evidence showed that Gourmet intended to identify the University, as the University argues. Evidence of such intent would be highly persuasive that the public will make the intended false association. The defense that the result intended was not achieved would be hollow indeed.
15 U.S.C. § 1052 (1976) states in pertinent part:
The holdings of the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals have been adopted as precedent for this court. South Corp. v. United States, 690 F.2d 1368, 215 USPQ 657 (Fed. Cir. 1982) (In banc)
The prohibition in Sec. 2(c), 15 U.S.C. § 1052(c), which the drafters discussed at the same time and in the same context as 2(a) (see Appendix), is also of this nature. For analysis of Sec. 2(c), see opinion of Examiner in Chief Federico in Reed v. Bakers Eng. & Equip. Co., 100 USPQ 196 (1954)
For discussion of the four distinct wrongs generally recognized under "right to privacy", and the elements of such claims, see Restatement (Second) of Torts Sec. 652A (1976); 1 R. Callmann, The Law of Unfair Competition Trademarks and Monopolies Sec. 1.23 (L. Altman 4th ed. 1981); W. Prosser, Handbook of the Law of Torts 802-18 (4th ed. 1971). See also Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Social Change, Inc. v. American Heritage Products, Inc., 250 Ga. 135, 296 S.E.2d 697, 216 USPQ 711 (1982). The right to privacy is limited to individuals in some states; but see Socialist Workers Party v. Attorney Gen. of the United States, 463 F. Supp. 515, 524-25 (S.D.N.Y. 1978); 1 R. Callmann, The Law of Unfair Competition Trademarks and Monopolies Sec. 1.23 n. 10 (L. Altman 4th ed. 1981). However, this limitation is negated by the language of Sec. 2(a)
The witness did not "refuse" to answer in the technical sense for which sanctions may be imposed. After the witness had testified that he had never heard of Knute Rockne, Ara Parseghian and Digger Phelps, his counsel objected to further questions on the grounds that the witness' knowledge of such persons was irrelevant and immaterial and instructed the witness not to answer. The expression "failure" or "refusal" to answer is more appropriately used where there is no response following a ruling by the board or a court that the objection was not valid. See Rule 37(b), Fed. R. Civ. P., where the term is used in connection with discovery depositions