Game of Groans

HBO, the producers of the popular television series GAME OF THRONES has filed an opposition [91244050] against two trademark applications filed by The Trustees of Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden to register the marks GAME OF THORNS and this stylized version:

HBO alleges that the Botanic Garden’s use of GAME OF THORNS is likely to cause confusion:

However unless the thought is that consumers won’t notice the difference between THRONES and THORNS, or are likely to believe that HBO misspelled its name, confusion seems unlikely.  HBO also alleges dilution:

It does not seem that a botanic garden is likely to tarnish the image of the world of Westeros and Essos, and as with the likelihood of confusion, tarnishment by blurring would seem to require that consumers won’t notice the difference between THRONES and THORNS, or are likely to believe that HBO misspelled its name.

The Botanic Garden is  clearly making a pun — one of those groan-inducing jokes based on words that sound similar but have dissimilar meanings.  While many regard puns as the lowest form of humor, are they prohibited by trademark law?  It seems that if most people get the joke, there can be no likelihood of confusion or dilution, because getting the joke relies upon knowing the difference between a throne and a thorn.  Not getting the joke, however, might indicate at last a possibility of confusion, and trademark law might apply.

While we don’t want trademark law interfering with good jokes, if it can stop bad jokes, that’s probably a good thing.  We will have to wait to see whether or not the TTAB gets the joke.

Federal Circuit agrees that CORN THINS and RICE THINS are least Merely Descriptive

In Real Foods Pty., Ltd. v. Frito-Lay North America, Inc., [2017-1959, 2017-2009] (October 4, 2018), the Federal Circuit affirmed-in-part, vacated-in-part, and remanded the TTAB’s decision that the Real Foods marks CORN THINS and RICE THINS  were merely descriptive and have not acquired distinctiveness.

Real Foods argued that the marks are merely suggestive, and not descriptive, and even if they are descriptive, they have acquired secondary meaning.  The Federal Circuit agreed with the TTAB that the marks were merely descriptive.  When determining whether a mark is merely descriptive, one must consider the commercial impression of a mark as a whole, viewed through the eyes of a consumer.  One must consider the mark in relation to the goods for which it is registered, asking whether someone who knows what the goods and services are will understand the mark to convey information about them.  The Federal Circuit found that substantial evidence supports the TTAB’s finding that the proposed marks are highly descriptive, noting that “corn” and “rice” are grains from which the products are made, and “thins” describe the physical characteristics of the products.  Viewing the marks as composites does not create a
different impression.

The Federal Circuit rejected Real Foods arguments about the source of evidence of public understanding of its marks, noting evidence of the public’s understanding of [a] term may be obtained from any competent source.  The Federal Circuit also rejected Real Foods’ arguments that the TTAB failed to properly consider third party registrations containing “THINS,” noting that these did not compel registration, because each application must be examined on its own merits.

The Federal Circuit also found that substantial evidence supported the TTAB’s finding of a lack of acquired distinctiveness.  To determine whether a mark has acquired secondary meaning, courts consider: advertising expenditures and sales success;
length and exclusivity of use; unsolicited media coverage; copying of the mark; and consumer studies.   Real Foods’ sales and advertising figures weigh against a finding of acquired distinctiveness.  Further Real Foods spent a relatively small amount on advertising as compared to other expenditures.  Finally, research conducted
by a third party on behalf of Real Foods demonstrates that consumers have low brand loyalty to and low preference for Real Foods’ corn and rice cakes, as compared to
its competitors.  Frito-Lay’s evidence showed low recognition of the terms are marks.

The Federal Circuit rejected Real Foods’ argument that the TTAB ignored evidence of substantially exclusive and continuous use, find that the TTAB expressly acknowledged the evidence, and was within its discretion to discount it.  As to other evidence, this too was within the TTAB’s right to weigh evidence, and declined the the invitation to re-weigh the evidence.

The TTAB dismissed Frito-Lay’s claim that CORN THINS and RICE THINS are generic.  Frito-Lay argued that the TTAB improperly narrowed genus of the goods and services, tracking Real Foods’ amendment to the description of goods, which related to the species of goods, rather than considering the genus.  Accordingly, the Federal Circuit remanded for the TTAB to reconsider its selected genus and conduct its genericness analysis in light of that genus.