Opinion ID: 805928
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Grounds for Cancellation

Text: Lens.com also argues that this court must overturn the Board’s determination on abandonment because the board erroneously relied solely on Lens.com’s specimens of use as the ground for cancellation. Appellant’s Br. 15 (citing ER Marks, Inc. v. Quarles Petroleum, Inc., 2007 WL 1620777 (T.T.A.B. May 30, 2007) (nonprecedential) (“[P]etitioner is essentially arguing that the specimens of use are unacceptable. However, the question of whether the signage would constitute an acceptable specimen of use, is solely an ex parte examination issue and does not constitute a valid ground for cancellation.”)). Lens.com’s argument lacks merit because the Board did not rely solely on the specimens of use, as Lens.com alleges, Board Decision at 9 (“[T]he specimens are just one piece of the puzzle”), but rather properly relied on the entire application file as directed by the Board’s regulations: (b) Application files. (1) The file . . . of each registration against which a petition or counterclaim for cancellation is filed forms part of the record of the proceeding without any action by the parties and reference may be made to the file for any rele- vant purpose. LENS.COM v. 1-800 CONTACTS 13 37 C.F.R. § 2.122(b)(1) (emphasis added). In Cold War Museum, Inc. v. Cold War Air Museum, Inc., 586 F.3d 1352 (Fed. Cir. 2010), this court held: “The unambiguous language of 37 C.F.R. § 2.122(b) provides that the entire file of the registration at issue is automatically part of the record [in a cancellation proceeding], without any action necessary by the parties . . . and the Board was required to consider this evidence in determining whether [the party seeking cancellation] had met its burden . . . .” Id. at 1357 (emphasis added). Because the Board properly considered Lens.com’s entire application file and did not rely solely on the specimens of use contained therein, Board Decision at 9, we decline to disrupt the Board’s determination on this ground.