Tag: TTAB

  • TTAB Rejects Energy Drink Maker’s Application for ‘Purple Rain’ Trademark

    The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has denied energy drink and dietary supplements manufacturer JHO Intellectual Property Holdings LLC’s bid to register the mark PURPLE RAIN in connection with its products. NPG Records, LLC v. JHO Intellectual Property Holdings LLC, No. 91269739 (T.T.A.B., entered August 23, 2022). JHO sought to register the mark…

  • Gruyere Can Come from Anywhere, Court Rules

    A Virginia federal court has reportedly confirmed that gruyere cheese does not need to be produced in the region near Gruyères, Switzerland, to carry the name in American stores. A consortium of cheesemakers in France and Switzerland near the region had appealed after the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board denied its application for a trademark,…

  • TTAB Finds “Gruyere” Generic

    The U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has determined that “gruyere” is a generic name for the type of cheese and cannot be registered as a certification mark. Int’l Dairy Foods Assn. v. Interprofession du Gruyère & Syndicat Interprofessionel du Gruyère, No. 91232427 (T.T.A.B., entered August 5, 2020). Swiss and French associations attempted to…

  • No Trademark For “Corn Thins,” Federal Circuit Holds

    The Federal Circuit has affirmed a Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decision refusing to grant a trademark to Real Foods Pty Ltd. for “Corn Thins” and “Rice Thins,” finding the terms to be “merely descriptive.” Real Foods Pty Ltd. v. Frito-Lay N. Am. Inc., Nos. 17-1959, 17-2009 (Fed. Cir., entered October 4, 2018). Frito-Lay…

  • France Targets Non-French Wine, Champagne

    France’s Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité has filed an opposition with the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board contesting Teastream LLC’s application to register “Champagne’s Sober Cousin” for tea products. Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité v. Teastream LLC, No. 91241975 (T.T.A.B., opposition filed June 25, 2018). The French agency…