The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has scheduled ten (10) oral hearings for the month of April, as listed below. Here are the first five (5). All of the hearings except one (1) will be held in the East Wing of the Madison Building, in Alexandria, Virginia. The exception (the second (2nd) case below) will be held at the ABA’s Annual IP Law Conference in Bethesda, Maryland. Briefs and other papers for these cases may be found at TTABVUE via the links provided.
April 6, 2016 – 2 PM: In re Openings, Serial No. 86044043 [Section 2(e)(5) functionality refusal of the product configuration shown below, comprising a U-shaped channel that runs the full length of a door at its top and bottom, for “metal doors, commercial reinforced steel doors” and for “non-metal doors”].
April 7, 2016 – 10:15 AM [ABA Annual IP Law Conference, Bethesda, Maryland]: Nash-Finch Company v. Ahold Licensing Sarl, Cancellation No. 92058000 [Petition for cancellation of a registration for the mark shown below, for “charitable fundraising services” [FOUNDATION disclaimed], in view of petitioner’s registered OUR FAMILY marks for food products and its common law OUR FAMILY marks for fundraising services and charitable efforts].
April 12, 2016 – 2 PM: Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team and Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team, Inc. v. Foundation Amurt (Switzerland), Oppositions Nos. 91125116 and 91161067 [Fourteen (14)-year old opposition to registration of the mark shown below for charitable and educational services, in view of opposer’s alleged prior use of virtually the same mark for the same services].
April 19, 2016 – 11 AM: In re Tango Card, Inc., Serial No. 86314468 [Section 2(d) refusal to register the mark REWARDS GENIUS for “Computer services, namely, providing a website featuring technology that allows enterprise business users of an online web interface to create and manage a rewards and recognition program, namely, account creation, account funding, catalog management, rewards delivery, and order management and history” [REWARDS disclaimed], in view of the registered mark GENIUS for “Administration of a customer loyalty program which provides cash rewards and incentives for sale and usage of transaction cards, electronic accounts, wireless communication devices and other payment devices or loyalty programs”].
April 20, 2016 – 2 PM : In re Apple, Inc., Serial No. 77844736 [Refusal to register the mark shown below for “Application programming interface computer software for use in developing applications for execution on central processing units (CPU) or graphic processor units (GPU), sold as an integral component of computer operating software” on the grounds that the mark identifies an industry standard and therefore fails to function as a mark, that applicant uses the mark as a certification mark through a licensee, that the specimen does not show use of the mark for the goods, and that the mark is not used on goods in trade].