Court Opinion

ID: 9472934
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 04:15:10.124618+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:43:14.060747
License: Public Domain

BRIGHT, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
In this case, a major beer brewer, Anheuser-Busch, invokes federal jurisdiction seeking trademark protection for its brand name “LA”. I would deny protection because its claim to the mark “LA” reflects a preemptive and anticompetitive intent to capture the emerging market for low alcoholic content beer by converting the initials of “low alcohol” (l.a.) into a trademark.
Counsel for Anheuser-Busch commented that this case is not complex. I agree. An artificial complexity arises only when pragmatic and flexible interpretations of the trademark laws become enmeshed in the rigid categorization of terms. Here, for example, the district court found LA to be *644a suggestive mark and, on that basis, granted Anheuser-Busch trademark protection. That finding, however, rests upon conclusions drawn from a legally irrelevant market survey. Furthermore, granting Anheuser-Busch a trademark on the term “LA” would subvert the objectives of the law of trademarks. For these reasons, I respectfully dissent.
I. ANHEUSER-BUSCH HAS FAILED TO ESTABLISH LA AS A TRADEMARK.
At the outset, I observe that because the mark “LA” (for “low alcohol”)1 has not yet been registered, Anheuser-Busch bears the burden of proof in establishing that it can be trademarked. National Conference of Bar Examiners v. Multistate Legal Studies, Inc., 692 F.2d 478, 488 (7th Cir.1982); Reese Publishing Co. v. Hampton International Communications, Inc., 620 F.2d 7, 11 (2d Cir.1980); see supra at 638. The objectives of the trademark laws are: (1) to prevent confusion among the consuming public as to the source of goods or services and, (2) to indicate ownership and permit the trademark owner to control the product’s reputation. See James Burrough Ltd. v. Sign of the Beefeater, Inc., 540 F.2d 266, 274 (7th Cir.1976); Sweetarts v. Sunline, Inc., 380 F.2d 923, 927 (8th Cir. 1967); 3 R. Callmann, The Law of Unfair Competition, Trademarks, and Monopolies §§ 17.01, at 2 & 17.13, at 58 (4th ed. 1983) (hereinafter cited as 3 R. Callmann). To realize these objectives, a trademark must distinguish a product from similar products and identify its owner or producer. Consequently, only those marks characterized as distinctive may receive trademark protection. 3 R. Callmann § 18.01, at 1. Thus, to gain trademark protection for the mark “LA”, Anheuser-Busch must demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence, see Application of Meyer & Wenthe, Inc., 267 F.2d 945, 949, 46 C.C.P.A. 919 (1959), that LA primarily serves to designate its source (from Anheuser-Busch) rather than to describe or indicate a characteristic that it shares with other beers of low alcoholic content produced by other brewers. Anti-Monopoly, Inc. v. General Mills Fun Group, 611 F.2d 296, 301 (9th Cir.1979); Roselux Chemical Co. v. Parsons Ammonia Co., 299 F.2d at 862; 3 R. Callmann §§ 18.01, 18.03.
I do not take issue with the district court’s decision to commence its analysis of whether LA is distinctive, and therefore entitled to trademark status, under the categories set forth in WSM, Inc. v. Hilton, 724 F.2d 1320, 1325 (8th Cir.1984),2 nor do I disagree that a factual issue arises in the categorization of a term. Id. at 1326. The clearly erroneous standard provided in Rule 52(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for appellate review of a trial court’s findings of fact does not, however, relegate the courts of appeals to the task of merely rubber stamping those findings. An appellate court may set aside even a finding of fact with some evidence to support it if, after reviewing “ ‘the entire evidence[, it] is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed,’ ” Anti-Monopoly, Inc. v. General Mills Fun Group, Inc., 684 F.2d 1316, 1318 (9th Cir.1982) (quoting United States v. United States Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395, 68 S.Ct. 525, 542, 92 L.Ed. 746 (1948)), or if the fact finding was based upon an erroneous legal standard. Inwood Laboratories, Inc. v. Ives Laboratories, Inc., 456 U.S. 844, 855 n. 15, 102 S.Ct. 2182, 2189 n. 15, 72 L.Ed.2d 606 (1982); Trout v. Lehman, 702 F.2d 1094, 1100 (D.C.Cir.1983); Save Lake Washington v. Frank, 641 F.2d 1330, 1334 (9th Cir.1981).
*645A. The Market Research Survey.
The majority relies heavily on the district court’s determination that the initials “LA” do not describe but merely suggest the beer’s low alcoholic content. This finding rested upon a market survey, conducted at the behest of Anheuser-Busch in contemplation of this litigation. The survey concluded that consumers perceived LA as the brand name of the product and not as a description for low alcohol beer.
I agree with the majority that the proper test for determining whether a mark is “generic”, “merely descriptive”, or “suggesijive” looks to the beliefs of the average prospective consumers, which may be determined through properly conducted surveys, and, therefore, in the circumstances of this case, reject Stroh’s contention that the proper test looks to the opinions of experts or the actual usage in the industry itself. See WSM, Inc., 724 F.2d at 1328 n. 3; Big O Tire Dealers, Inc. v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 561 F.2d 1365, 1369 (10th Cir.1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1052, 98 S.Ct. 905, 54 L.Ed.2d 805 (1978); Application of Abcor Development Corp., 588 F.2d 811, 814 & n. 15 (C.C.P.A.1978); 3 R. Callmann §§ 18.01, at 2 & 18.04, at 13, 15 n. 8. However, the market survey introduced by Anheuser-Busch in the district court suffers several fatal defects, and cannot properly serve as a basis for the district court’s finding that LA is suggestive, rather than generic or merely descriptive, of low alcohol beers.
Dr. Yoram Wind conducted the market survey for Anheuser-Busch. He testified that in order to determine whether “the LA designation (on the can of beer) connote[s] a light alcohol or low alcohol beer”, the study focused only on the responses of those consumers who had never seen, heard of, or tried the beer, and who were exposed only to the LA label on a can. In essence, then, Dr. Wind sought to answer this question by “isolatpng] the effect of the can from that of other advertising, promotion material and word of mouth communication.” Not surprisingly, only 4.4% of the 226 consumers surveyed who fell into this category described the product as a low alcohol beer, and only 5.8% responded “low alcohol” to the follow-up question “what type of beer is it?”3 These responses, considered in conjunction with the responses of 76% of these participants that LA was the brand name of the product, obviously would support the district court’s determination that consumers recognize LA as the brand name of the product and that it does not connote low alcohol to them.
The perceptions of a group of wholly uninformed consumers are, however, simply legally irrelevant. Dr. Wind’s approach essentially measures consumer perception in an abstract, hypothetical context: what does a mark convey immediately to a consumer who has never before seen the product and who might not even know that such a product category exists. As the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals observed in Application of Abcor Development Corp., supra, such an approach would “separate the concept of the average prospective purchaser from the world of reality.” 588 F.2d at 814. Thus, the court rejected that approach and held, that in determining the reaction of prospective consumers to a mark, “[ejvidence of the context in which a mark is used on labels, packages, or in advertising material directed to the goods is probative * * Id. The Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, in its decision in the same case, stated that consideration should also be given to “the possible significance of the term in relation to the goods, and the likely reaction thereto of the average purchaser as he encounters the goods in the marketplace” in determining consumer perception. 197 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) *646547, 548 (T.T.A.P.1978); see also 3 R. Callmann § 18.04.
Thus, a legally relevant test of consumer perceptions must reflect the real world and a real market. In this case, then, the appropriate group of consumers to survey would have been an informed group of consumers, familiar with low alcohol beer.4 Certainly, trademarks are used in the real world in a commercial context through advertising. Anheuser-Busch presumably introduced its low alcohol beer with the intent of communicating to the public the low alcohol character of the beer. Although Dr. Wind based his conclusion that LA did not connote low alcohol beer solely on the responses of consumers with no prior exposure to the product or its advertising, the survey did include 369 consumers who had seen, heard of, or tried LA by AnheuserBusch and who were exposed either to a can of LA or its supporting advertising. The responses of these consumers shed a different light on the question of whether LA connotes low alcohol beer.5
Of these respondents, 120 were exposed only to a can of LA: 23% described it as a low alcohol beer product and 24% responded “low alcohol” when asked what type of beer it was. The results are even more significant when one examines the responses of the other 249 respondents who were exposed only to the Anheuser-Busch advertising for LA. Sixty-two percent of this group described the product as a low alcohol beer. If we focus only on those who gave some answer6 to the question “describe the product”, fully 76% described the product as a low alcohol beer.7 Even Dr. Wind acknowledged that consumers exposed to the advertising responded by talking about low alcohol.
In his testimony, Dr. Wind sought to minimize the impact of the responses describing the product as a low alcohol beer, noting that even among the consumers exposed to the advertising, the overwhelming majority identified LA as the brand name of the product in response to the question “what is the brand name of this beer?”. Dr. Wind testified that he could not conclude that LA connoted low alcohol even to those consumers who responded “low alcohol” to the questions “describe the product” and “what type of beer is it?”. Indeed, he points to the overwhelming number of these participants who responded LA when asked to state the brand name as evidence that consumers understand LA to be a brand name and that it does not connote to them the low alcoholic content of the beer.
In essence, Dr. Wind concluded that if a respondent recognizes LA as the brand *647name, he or she cannot also recognize that it stands for low alcohol, even in those instances in which the respondent had previously described the product as a low alcohol beer. This conclusion appears disingenuous. It rests on the false premise that LA can have only one meaning to consumers. Any term, after all, can mean more than one thing. It requires very little reflection to recognize that the average consumer, exposed to only one brand of beer and advertising designed to emphasize the brand name rather than the alcoholic content of that beer, might think both that LA stands for low alcohol and that it is the brand name for the product. Although Dr. Wind drew his conclusions from the study on the assumption that the respondents perceived LA as referring either to the product’s brand name or to a description of its alcoholic content, the questions were not presented to the respondents as either/or propositions and it seems highly unlikely that they perceived them as such. Dr. Wind’s expressed concern about avoiding a bias in the testing result is certainly appropriate. That the structure and type of questions employed avoided a bias in one direction does not, however, preclude the possibility that they created a bias in another.
The average consumer presumably has no conception of what is legally required for a brand name to receive trademark protection. Thus, just because a majority of the consumers surveyed thought, after being exposed to a can prominently labeled LA and advertising that stressed LA as the brand name, that LA was the brand name may not establish that the mark is entitled to trademark status. What is equally as impressive as the number of consumers who thought LA was the brand name, and more noteworthy for purposes of trademark analysis, is that, notwithstanding the focus in the advertising on emphasizing LA as the brand name, over 60% of those consumers who had previously been exposed to LA and who were exposed to the Anheuser-Busch advertising described LA as a low alcohol beer.
One could, by focusing on the responses of those consumers who had seen, heard of, or tried LA and who were exposed to the advertising, conclude that LA connotes low alcohol and, thus, is merely descriptive and not registrable. But, it is not necessary, in view of the record and the allocation of the burden of proof in this case, to go that far.8 Examination of the market survey reveals serious defects — namely, that the conclusion that LA does not connote low alcohol beer was drawn from the legally irrelevant sample group of uninformed consumers asked to draw meaning from an isolated product label, and that the survey was otherwise insufficient because of the questionable structure and make-up of the questions asked. Thus, upon analysis, this survey does not, in my view, support the district court’s finding that LA is suggestive.
B. Industry Expert Opinion Testimony.
The majority also cites, as support for the district court’s finding that LA is suggestive, the testimony of James Buell, an Anheuser-Busch executive, who stated that he felt LA was suggestive of low alcohol. See supra at 642. However, as noted supra at 645, the opinions of industry experts are irrelevant; the relevant test looks to the perceptions of informed prospective consumers. Thus, Buell’s testimony cannot, as a matter of law, provide support for the district court’s finding of suggestiveness.
My review of the record discloses no other evidence offered by Anheuser-Busch, or relied upon by the district court, to support the finding that LA is suggestive. Thus, I conclude that Anheuser-Busch has failed to meet its burden of proof in showing that the mark “LA” is distinctive and *648entitled to trademark status. Consequently, the district court’s finding that LA is suggestive, rather than descriptive or generic, constitutes clear error and should be set aside.
C. Effect of Initials “LA”.
On the basis of this record, AnheuserBusch has failed to carry its burden of proof of establishing the registrability of LA. As a legal matter, Anheuser-Busch should not be granted a trademark in LA because those initials do not sufficiently distinguish its brand from the product— low alcohol beer. In determining whether a mark may become a trademark, the ultimate criterion focuses on the mark’s distinctiveness: does it primarily indicate origin and ownership. The four WSM, Inc. categories — “generic”, “merely descriptive”, “suggestive”, and “arbitrary and fanciful” — were propounded to demonstrate the continuum along which brand names lie. Under that scheme, “generic” and “arbitrary and fanciful” represent the two extremes — the former which can never constitute a trademark and the latter which clearly does. “Merely descriptive” and “suggestive” reflect the middle of the continuum where distinctiveness is a close question. Although these categories are useful conceptually, we need be mindful that the ultimate focus in analyzing trademark claims is always on the distinctiveness and source-designating capacity of a mark.9
In assessing the distinctiveness of the mark “LA”, the key question is whether it substantially differs from terms in the public domain so that consumers will associate it exclusively with Anheuser-Busch. See 3 R. Callmann § 18.01. An acronym is really no different than a mark consisting of a word or words; it cannot be a valid trademark if it describes or refers to the product or any of its characteristics or if it is not used solely to indicate origin. See Nature’s Bounty, Inc. v. Basic Organics, 432 F.Supp. 546, 551 (E.D.N.Y.1977); 3 R. Callmann § 18.23. Thus, initials recognized by prospective consumers as equivalent to the phrase for which they stand are descriptive and may not be trademarked if the full phrase cannot be trademarked. See FS Services, Inc. v. Custom Farm Services, Inc., 471 F.2d 671, 674 (7th Cir.1972); Modern Optics, Inc. v. Univis Lens Co., 234 F.2d 504, 506, 43 C.C.P.A. 970 (1956); 3 R. Callmann § 18.10; accord National Conference of Bar Examiners, 692 F.2d at 488.
Several factors lead me to conclude that consumers will associate LA with “low alcohol.” First, I would note the penchant of the American public to adopt nicknames and other shortened appellations, including acronyms. This tendency has been duly noted elsewhere. See Application of Abcor Development Co., 588 F.2d at 815 (Rich, J., concurring); 3 R. Callmann § 18.-04. It seems highly likely that LA will become the “bar call” for low alcohol beer in the United States, just as it did in Australia. See infra Part 11(b). Indeed, this is precisely what Anheuser-Busch intended to capitalize on when it selected LA as the name for its low alcohol beer. See infra Part 11(a).
Second, “[i]t is the use of the mark in a going trade or business to distinguish the product of the user from that of others and not the choice of it which creates what becomes the subject of property in the mark.” Standard Brands, Inc. v. Smi*649dler, 151 F.2d 34, 36 (2d Cir.1945) (emphasis added). Thus, I think it crucial to consider the initials “LA” in the context of the Anheuser-Busch advertising and the probable course of development in the low alcohol beer segment.10
In Grove Laboratories Inc. v. Brewer & Co., 103 F.2d 175, 179 (1st Cir.1939), the court noted that although the initials “LBQ” are arbitrary and fanciful, use of them on a label along with the words “Laxative Bromo Quinine” might render the initials descriptive.11 Accord Horlick’s Malted Milk Co. v. Borden Co., 295 Fed. 232 (D.C.Cir.1924) (initials “MM” used on label along with “malted milk” descriptive of product); cf. Kampgrounds of America, Inc. v. North Delaware A-OK Campground, Inc., 415 F.Supp. 1288, 1291-92 (D.Del.1976):
If it were apparent, however, from the manner in which the KOA mark * * * were displayed that KOA did indeed stand for Kampgrounds of America [for example, if the KOA mark always appeared alongside of the name Kampgrounds of America], then I might be more convinced [that KOA is descriptive because it stands for. a descriptive phrase].
The record reveals that consumers may not now associate LA with low alcohol only because this category of beer has only recently come on the market and much of the general public does not even know of its existence. Although Anheuser-Busch does not display the term “low alcohol” on the LA label, and primarily promotes LA as the brand name, the accompanying advertising does note the low alcoholic content of the beer. Little doubt exists, in my view, that LA will come to be synonomous with low alcohol in the average consumer’s mind after a few months of heavy advertising. This belief is reinforced by the appearance of numerous articles in newspapers and magazines since the beginning of 1984 explaining that the term “LA” stands for low alcohol.12 This kind of association tends to confirm that the informed consumer exposed to the new product will more likely than not equate LA primarily with low alcohol, rather than associate the letters as an Anheuser-Busch trademark.
In sum, because I think that AnheuserBusch has failed to marshall sufficient evidence to establish the registrability of the mark “LA,” and that, on the record before us, the initials “LA”, as a matter of law, represent a descriptive designation of the low alcohol product, I would set aside as clearly erroneous the district court’s finding that LA is suggestive. Because the district court granted trademark protection on the basis of that finding, its judgment, in my view, lacks support. Accordingly, I now turn to an independent consideration of whether Anheuser-Busch should receive trademark protection for LA.
II. GRANTING TRADEMARK STATUS TO LA WOULD FRUSTRATE THE FUNDAMENTAL INTENT OF TRADEMARK PROTECTION.
The categories originally devised to aid the courts in analyzing trademark claims *650have assumed a life all their own and a tremendous body of doctrine has evolved that has become so obscured by semantic distinctions and unwarranted rigid categorization, mutually exclusive boundaries and hierarchical rankings, that it has choked off the vitality of the categories and their continuing efficacy in the analysis of trademark claims. “Arbitrary and fanciful”, “suggestive”, “descriptive”, and “generic” have achieved talismanic significance: the adverse parties and the courts attempt to pigeonhole the disputed mark into one of the categories with a consequent outcome-determinative effect, instead of addressing the underlying equities to ensure that the objectives of the trademark laws are carried out. Courts must be mindful of the need to apply the law of trademarks flexibly and pragmatically in light of the existing circumstances.
Resolution of trademark issues under the subtle nuances of categorization often fails to consider the relationship between the mark, the nature of the product, and the applicant’s objectives in seeking registration of a mark. Moreover, the factual patterns in trademark cases are so unique that the relationship between mark, product, and producer demands careful case-by-case analysis rather than extensive analysis of prior trademark decisions. See Application of Abcor Development Corp., 588 F.2d at 815 (Rich, J., concurring). With this as background, and on the basis of my conclusion in Part 1(c) that the initials “LA” are merely descriptive of the generic phrase “low alcohol”, I turn to a consideration of the equities in this case and the proper application of the law of trademarks to LA.
Descriptive or generic marks are denied the protection of the trademark laws for two reasons:
(1) to prevent the owner of a mark from inhibiting competition in the sale of particular goods; and (2) to maintain freedom of the public to use the language involved, thus avoiding the possibility of harassing infringement suits by the registrant against others who use the mark when advertising or describing their own products.
Id. at 813. It would be quite anomalous if the courts were to apply the law of trademarks, which is but a part of the law of unfair competition, in a manner which would permit companies to use the trademark laws as a sword to unfairly restrict competition rather than merely as a shield to protect their own products and their investment in promoting those products from unfair infringement by others. Yet, this is precisely what the majority today permits.
A. Anheuser-Busch Internal Documents and the Lite Beer Experience.
Sales of beer in this country have remained relatively flat for some time. The best prospects for sales growth in the beer industry occur in the development of new market segments. The prime example of this, and one not lost on any of the major breweries, including Anheuser-Busch, was the development of the “light” beer segment in the 1970’s. Miller was the first major company to market a light beer and enjoyed roughly a two-year period during which it had the sole entry in the light beer market. Miller called its brand “Lite” and sought trademark protection. The Seventh Circuit ultimately determined that “light” or “lite”, when used in the beer context, was generic and thus not registrable as a trademark. See Miller Brewing Co. v. G. Heileman Brewing Co., 561 F.2d 75 (7th Cir.1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1025, 98 S.Ct. 75, 54 L.Ed.2d 772 (1978).13 That decision, however, only denied to Miller the exclusive rights to the use of the term “lite” and Miller, through extensive advertising, established “lite” as the “bar call” for the low calorie beer segment. Thus, anyone who enters a bar and asks for a “light”, gets “Lite” beer from Miller. Ac*651cording to the parties to this suit, Miller’s current 57% share of the light beer market is largely attributable to its initial position as the sole market entry and the evolution of “lite” as the “bar call” for the category.
Between 1982 and 1983 many of the major brewers14 became interested in low alcohol beer as a possible new market segment. Numerous Anheuser-Busch internal documents and reports prepared for Anheuser-Busch during the planning stages in late 1983 and early 1984 indicate AnheuserBusch’s desire to “preempt” the low alcohol beer market “a la Miller and ‘lite’ beer.” For example, the Product Naming Strategy Report, dated November 14, 1983, prepared by the Interbrand Corporation for Anheuser-Busch contains a penciled notation “preemptive” under the heading “Brand Name Objectives” and a recommendation that “Anheuser-Busch has an opportunity to ‘write the book’ on the reduced alcohol segment in exactly the same way Miller did in the light beer segment * * *.” A November 1983 briefing report on reduced alcohol beers produced by James Buell, an Anheuser-Busch executive, lists as the first brand name objective for the Anheuser-Busch low alcohol beer that it be preemptive like “Lite.” In another internal briefing document dated December 20, 1983, Charles Wirtel, another AnheuserBusch executive, states that “it is our charge to be preemptive in the category * * * to be the major beneficiary of its emergence.” Finally, and most tellingly, in the “Marketing Guide” furnished to its wholesalers on March 16, 1984, AnheuserBusch states, under section II labelled “LA —The Bar Call of the 80s”:
As the first product in this new market, LA has an excellent opportunity to become THE bar call for light alcohol beers. People will quickly learn to ask, not for a “light alcohol beer,” but simply for an “LA.” We should be able to establish a bar call that is virtually unbreakable.
Marketing Guide at 12. Further on, in the section addressing sales promotion, the Guide observes that “[o]ur new product has a natural bar call and should preempt the category during this introductory period.” Id. at 21.15
These internal documents are relevant to show Anheuser-Busch’s intent to use LA in a descriptive manner to preempt the low alcohol beer market. The trademark laws, however, are designed to protect names selected by a company and promoted with the intent of indicating the ownership and source of the goods. It is inconsistent with the objectives of the trademark laws to suggest that the protection of those laws should be extended to cases in which a company attempts to arrogate for business-promotional reasons a mark that is essentially descriptive. These documents disclose just such an intent, see Nature’s Bounty, Inc. v. Basic Organics, 432 F.Supp. at 552 (considering intent and purpose of company in determining claimed mark to be descriptive), and that intent runs directly into the prohibition against granting trademark protection to a mark that would inhibit competition. Applica*652tion of Abcor Development Corp., 588 F.2d at 813.
B. The Australian Experience.
In deciding to move into the low alcohol beer segment, both Anheuser-Busch and Stroh carefully studied the Australian experience with low alcohol beer since the market developed there in late 1979. Three companies in Australia use the designation LA on the label of their low alcohol beer. The evidence of the Australian experience indicates that LA quickly became the “bar call” or generic term for the low alcohol beer category, and that the Tooth Brewing Company, by advertising “Tooth LA” very heavily, had obtained a 70% share of the low alcohol beer market.
Stroh argued that the evidence that LA had become the “bar call” in Australia and that Tooth LA had captured a huge share of the market reveals that LA is in fact generic and thus not registrable for trademark protection. While I agree with the majority, see supra at 642, that the Australian experience is not relevant to a determination of consumer perceptions or the ultimate classification of LA in the United States, I do think that that evidence is relevant to show that Anheuser-Busch exercised no creative effort in arriving at the decision to call its low alcohol beer “LA”. Judge Frank, concurring in Standard Brands, Inc. v. Smidler, stated that “[sjince plaintiff did not originate the symbol — which, as heretofore noted, had previously been utilized by others * * * [in different contexts] — the scope of its monopoly should be peculiarly restricted.” 151 F.2d at 43. Similarly, in this case I believe that Anheuser-Busch should not be granted trademark protection for a term it simply borrowed from other companies in the same industry — albeit in a different country — with the intent to preempt the market.
The unescapable conclusion to be drawn from these facts is that Anheuser-Busch sought to obtain a trademark on a term that it thought would become generic, or at least the “bar call”, for this segment of the beer market in order to gain a preemptive hold on the low alcohol beer market just as Miller did with the light beer market. I do not in any way mean to denigrate Anheuser-Busch for that attempt. Its innovative strategy in opening up a market for a beer with a reduced alcoholic content deserves credit and it is entitled to exploit fairly this market. It may not, however, exploit this market by appropriating for its product a term that inherently belongs to the public, including its competitors. The trademark laws of this country were designed to protect brand names used to signify the source of a product and thereby enable a company to protect the reputation of its goods and to prevent confusion among the consuming public. It is untenable that the courts should extend the protection of these laws to sanction anticompetitive, preemptive objectives.16 Accordingly, I would refuse trademark status to Anheuser-Busch for its use of LA on its low alcohol beer.
III. THE INJUNCTION IS OVER-BROAD.
Even if I agreed with the majority that the district court’s finding that LA is suggestive, and thus entitled to trademark protection, was not clearly erroneous, I would modify the injunctive order by striking that portion which enjoins Stroh from “doing any other acts which are likely to cause confusion, mistake or deception with plaintiff.” Rule 65(d) of the Federal Rules of *653Civil Procedure requires that injunctive orders be specific in terms and describe in reasonable detail the acts sought to be' restrained. Injunctions must be tailored narrowly to remedy the specific harm shown rather than to enjoin all possible breaches of the law. Hartford-Empire Co. v. United States, 323 U.S. 386, 409-10, 65 S.Ct. 373, 385-86, 89 L.Ed. 322 (1945); Aviation Consumer Action Project v. Washburn, 535 F.2d 101, 108 (D.C.Cir.. 1976); Davis v. Romney, 490 F.2d 1360, 1370 (3d Cir.1974).
In this case, Anheuser-Busch complained that Stroh’s use of LA in conjunction with one of Stroh’s brand names — “Schaefer” or “Old Milwaukee” — would dilute the effectiveness of Anheuser-Busch’s LA brand and confuse consumers. The injunction specifically prohibits Stroh from using LA or any colorable imitation. That part of the order is appropriate and should suffice to rectify the harm in this case. The problem with the “or any other acts” provision of the order is that it does not “prevent uncertainty and confusion on the part of * * * [Stroh, and it does not] avoid * * * [a potential contempt citation] on a decree too vague to be understood.” Schmidt v. Lessard, 414 U.S. 473, 476, 94 S.Ct. 713, 715, 38 L.Ed.2d 661 (1974); Ideal Toy Corp. v. Plawner Toy Manufacturing Corp., 685 F.2d 78, 83 (3d Cir.1982). This provision simply does not give Stroh “fair and precisely drawn notice of what the injunction actually prohibits.” Granny Goose Foods, Inc. v. Brotherhood of Teamsters, 415 U.S. 423, 444, 94 S.Ct. 1113, 1126, 39 L.Ed.2d 435 (1974).
It is uncertain, for example, whether this provision means that Stroh would be subject to contempt if it named its low alcohol beer “Loal”, “Lial,” or some other acronym for low or light alcohol. Anheuser-Busch is entitled to protect only its brand name, not the suggestive nature of it. Thus, even if the majority is correct in granting Anheuser-Busch trademark protection for LA, the injunction order is either too broad or too vague. Accordingly, I would strike the “any other acts” provision in the order.

. There are numerous other designations for this new beer segment. The parties and the media alternatively refer to it as “low alcohol”, "light alcohol”, "low or light in alcohol”, “less alcohol”, "light alternative”, and "reduced alcohol.” Obviously, the acronym “LA” would encompass all designations except the last. It is irrelevant for purposes of trademark analysis that a product category has more than one generic name. Roselux Chemical Co. v. Parsons Ammonia Co., 299 F.2d 855, 860, 49 C.C.P.A. 931 (1962).

. See supra at 634.

. Some, but not all, of these respondents actually used the words "low alcohol." For purposes of reporting the responses, however, it is more convenient to report under one phrase the various synonymous responses such as "low alcohoi”, "light in alcohol”, "less alcohol”, "reduced alcohol”, actually given. I use “low alcohol” simply because it is the most common of the various alternatives. See supra at 644 n. 1.

. Dr. Wind testified that he had explicitly rejected the idea of screening potential participants in the survey by whether they had ever heard of low alcohol beers because he thought that would result in a bias. It is not, however, necessary to consider further that aspect of the survey because the survey did, in fact, include consumers who had been exposed to LA or the Anheuser-Busch advertising for it. See infra n. 5 and pp. 646-647.

. Dr. Wind did not analyze the responses of these consumers, nor present any conclusions drawn therefrom in his final report, with respect to the question whether LA connotes a low alcohol beer to consumers because he determined to “answer" that question by focusing only on a “pure, uncontaminated” response to the stimulus of the label “LA” on a can. Thus, the conclusion that LA does not connote low alcohol was based on the responses of the 226 consumers with no prior exposure to LA or its advertising after being exposed to only a can of LA. Dr. Wind focused on the responses of the 369 consumers who had previous exposure to LA or its advertising as proof that even when consumers described the product as a low alcohol beer, they also stated that LA was the brand name. See infra at 646-647 for a more detailed discussion. The statistics on the effects of the Anheuser-Busch advertising on those consumers who had seen, heard of, or tried LA prior to the survey are culled from the statistical tables prepared by the Data Development Corporation for Dr. Wind, from which Dr. Wind did his statistical analysis and prepared his report.

. According to the statistical tabulation of the results, 46 of the 249 respondents in this group gave no response to this question. Of the 203 total responses to the question, 154, about 76%, described it as a low alcohol beer.

. A small sub-group of 41 respondents were shown a print advertisement for LA after having been exposed to a can of LA. Seventy-eight percent then described LA as a low alcohol beer.

. At the very least, the responses of these consumers suggested that LA may have connoted low alcohol beer to them. In view of this, the survey might have gone further and attempted to ascertain whether that was true by asking a question like "Does anything else come to mind when you hear 'LA'?”. If asked as the last question, that question would not have biased the survey.

. That the categories "generic" and “descriptive" merely define the parameters of the non-distinctive, and thus non-protectable, and “arbitrary and fanciful” and "suggestive” the parameters of the distinctive, and thus protectable, and do not themselves possess any determinative value, has more than just common sense support. Under the Lanham Act, an applicant may obtain trademark status even for a merely descriptive mark if it can show that the mark has achieved secondary meaning so as to become distinctive. See 15 U.S.C. § 1052(f) (1982). See generally 3 R. Callmann §§ 19.25-19.38. Thus, the question is always, "Is the mark sufficiently distinctive to identify the source of the product?". In this case, that determination must be made on the intrinsic meaning of the mark "LA” because the record does not show that Anheuser-Busch has offered any evidence to establish a secondary meaning. That is hardly surprising when one remembers that Anheuser-Busch has been marketing LA only since the beginning of April 1984.

. Cf. Florist's Transworld Delivery Association v. Teleflora, Inc., 208 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 858, 863 (T.T.A.B.1980):
The term “FLOWERS-BY-WIRE,” considered in the abstract, may not project a descriptive significance * * *. Obviously, this is not the proper test. The descriptiveness or nondescriptiveness of the term must * * * be considered in light of the * * * marketing environment * * *. * * * Viewed in this light, there can be little doubt that, by the manner in which the industry has used the terms “FLOWERS-BY-WIRE” over the years, the phrase immediately describes, to purchasers and prospective purchasers, a service involving intercity delivery of flowers by use of the telegram, the telephone, or other means of communication.

. But the court found that the evidence in the case showed that the defendant had established a secondary meaning. Thus, the court granted trademark protection.

. See, e.g., Time, Apr. 2, 1984, at 76; Fortune, March 5, 1984, at 70-71; Business Week, Feb. 6, 1984, at 32; Lazurus, Top of the Week, Adweek, Jan. 30, 1984, at 3; Hansell, Stroh to offer low-alcohol beer, Detroit Free Press, March 6, 1984; Dallas Times Herald, Feb. 7, 1984, at B-7; Ad Day, Feb. 2, 1984; Lazurus, Busch brewing new suds war, Chicago Tribune, Jan. 24, 1984, § 3, at 14.

. See also Miller Brewing Co. v. Falstaff Brewing Corp., 655 F.2d 5 (1st Cir.1981); Miller Brewing Co. v. Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co., 605 F.2d 990 (7th Cir.1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1102, 100 S.Ct. 1067, 62 L.Ed.2d 787 (1980).

. Two smaller regional breweries, the Christian Schmidt Brewing Company of Philadelphia and the Hudepohl Brewing Company of Cincinnati introduced low alcohol beers in 1983 under the respective brand names of "Break" and “Pace”.

. There are several other documents contained in the record that provide further evidence of the anti-competitive intent that dominated Anheuser-Busch’s actions in introducing its LA beer. A transcription of notes dictated by August A. Busch, III, the chief executive officer of Anheuser-Busch, on October 31, 1983, contains a statement by Mr. Busch that "we could move with one of the concepts on a national rollout and possibly capture this segment of the marketplace.” A second report produced by the Interbrand Corporation on December 20, 1983, listed as one objective in brand name strategy the use of "a descriptive name in order to preempt the category, ala lite.” A transcription of notes dictated by Mr. Busch on January 2, 1984, reveals "[we should] [u]se the name LA prominently on the package * * * such as Miller did with Lite. * * * I like the LA, trying to set it as the entire product category name like Light is * * *.” There is also a "confidential” memorandum listing the brand name alternatives which notes "L.A. in this use [LA from Anheuser-Busch] could be a preemptive category name”.

. The majority's citation of Justice Frankfurter's remarks on trademark law in Mishawaka Rubber is quite apt. See supra at 643 n. 17. I merely disagree with the majority's view of the impact of those remarks in this case. I do not condemn Anheuser-Busch's "enterprising innovativeness"; rather, I applaud its effort in introducing a low alcohol beer. Nonetheless, several other breweries have been developing or are currently marketing low alcohol beers and Anheuser-Busch is not entitled, under our trademark laws, to the “commercial magnetism” of a generic or descriptive mark merely because of early entry and heavy exploitation of the market. The evidence of Anheuser-Busch’s intent and its knowledge of the Australian experience seem to me to undermine its claim that, in choosing the name “LA”, it exercised any creativity entitling it to protection under our trademark laws.