Opinion ID: 2966389
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The L'eggsR mark

Text: The L'eggsR mark was conceived in the midst of Sara Lee's endeavor to discover new ways to manufacture, package, and market women's hosiery. The company's efforts have paid off; by developing a line of nylon-and-spandex hosiery, packaging its products in the now-famous egg-shaped containers,11 and cultivating a new market in which to sell its goods, Sara Lee has amassed handsome profits. But what, exactly, does L'eggsR mean? The district court decided that L'eggsR was a contraction for leg eggs. It then focused on what it considered to be the weaker element of the mark (leg), which, of course, is also an intrinsic part of Kayser-Roth's Leg LooksR mark, and almost certainly the source of any confusion between the two. _________________________________________________________________ 10 A mark is generic if it denominate[s] a type, kind, genus or subcategory of goods. Dayton Progress at 839 (quoting G. Heileman Brewing Co. v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 873 F.2d 985, 997 (7th Cir. 1989)). In other words, a generic term identifies the general nature of an article. Dayton Progress at 839 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). A term may also be generic if it names a distinctive characteristic of that genus of products. 2 McCarthy § 12.02[5]. For example, the term Matchbox was held to be generic because that genus of toy vehicles were sold in matchbox-sized boxes. 11 Since 1991, Sara Lee has curtailed its packaging of L'eggsR products in plastic eggs in favor of more environmentally friendly cardboard boxes. Nonetheless, the new packaging retains the egg silhouette. 14 Citing the rule that a term may be generic if it names a distinctive characteristic of the genus to which the product belongs, see note 10, supra, the court concluded that, because all pantyhose have legs, the word leg is generic insofar as it pertains to pantyhose. The court alternatively found that leg is generic because it is an abbreviation of legwear or leggings, terms that refer to the genus of apparel to which pantyhose belong. According to the district court, because the word leg is generic, it may legally be used as part of an otherwise non-infringing pantyhose trademark. We disagree. The district court failed to appreciate that the mark at issue is neither leg eggs nor legs, but L'eggsR, a word that represents a singular concept associated with -- but very different from -- pantyhose. Although the mark may not be wholly fanciful (because it is phonetically identical to a common word) or arbitrary (because it is not actually a real word), it is unquestionably suggestive, and therefore a strong, distinctive mark. L'eggsR conjures favorable images of attractive legs or legginess, and, by subtly reminding consumers of its famous egg packaging design, reinforces the association between the product and its source -- a sure sign of a mark entitled to protection.12 _________________________________________________________________ 12 See, e.g., Metro Publishing, Ltd. v. San Jose Mercury News, 987 F.2d 637, 640 (9th Cir. 1993) (a likelihood of confusion exists when consumers are likely to assume that a product or service is associated with a source other than its actual source because of similarities between the two sources' marks or marketing techniques.) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). It stands to reason that a mark which elucidates, to an unusual degree, the source of a product serves the public interest and should be preserved. That is precisely why merely descriptive marks are accorded trademark protection upon acquiring a secondary meaning. See discussion in Section IV-A(1), supra. As for the district court's alternative finding, we note simply that L'eggsR does not denominate a type or genus of goods, nor does it name a distinctive characteristic of pantyhose in general. See note 10, supra. A different case would be presented if the mark at issue were Pantyhose or Stockings (type or genus), or Nylons (characteristic). Our conclusion that the L'eggsR mark is distinctive is further bolstered by the Patent and Trademark Office's registration of the L'eggsR trademark without requiring any proof of the mark's having acquired a secondary meaning. See Pizzeria Uno at 1529: 15