Tim & Co. v. Cluett, Peabody, & Co.
Tim & Co. v. Cluett, Peabody, & Co.
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court:
In McIlhenny v. New Iberia Extract of Tobasco Pepper Co. 30 App. D. C. 337, it was ruled that a petition for the cancelation oí a trademark must contain a statement of facts sufficiently full to show that the petitioner' has been injured by the registration of the mark he seeks to have canceled, that is, that he has sustained an injury of a legal character. In Battle Greek Sanitarium Co. v. Fuller, 30 App. D. C. 411, an opposition to the registration of a mark under the ten-year clause, the court pointed out that it is not sufficient for„an opponent to say he believes he would be damaged by the proposed registration, but that “he must allege some fact showing an interest in the subject-matter, from which damage might be inferred.” In that case the opposer had alleged use of a mark in its advertising matter. The court said: “To constitute a trademark use, the mark must be attached or applied to the goods. Columbia Mill Co. v. Alcorn, 150 U. S. 460, 464, 37 L. ed. 1144, 1146, 14 Sup. Ct. Rep. 151. Property in it can only be acquired, by the actual application of it to goods of a certain class, so that it serves to indicate the origin of the goods; that is to say, identify them with the particular manufacturer or- trader, and to dis
Of course, where an article is known by a certain name and the registration of that name is sought under the ten-year clause, an opposition based upon the manufacture and sale of said article is sufficient. Thus, in Natural Food Co. v. Williams, 30 App. D. C. 348, the opposition to the registration of the words, “Shredded Whole Wheat,” as a trademark, was sustained because it appeared that the opposer, during the ten-year period, had produced that article of food and sold it under the name by which it vTas known to the public. While in that case the opposer’s use of the mark was not a trademark use, it was a use inconsistent with the proposed registration, and one of which it could not be deprived by tlie applicant. The words, “Shredded Whole Wheat,” represented a thing which others had a right to produce and sell, and hence the applicant was not entitled to their exclusive use. See also H. W. Johns-Man-ville Co. v. American Steam Packing Co. 33 App. D. C. 224.
In the present case the applicant and opposer are both manufacturers of shirts and collars. The applicant has attached the word “Troy” to its goods as a trademark, and claims the right to registration under the ten-year clause. It is no objection to the registration of the mark under this statute that it is geographical and descriptive. Re Cahn, 27 App. D. C. 173; Battle Creek Sanitarium Co. v. Fuller, 30 App. D. C. 411. The opposer has not used this mark on its shirts and collars. Indeed,
The notice of opposition should have been dismissed. Decision reversed. • Reversed.
On April 13, 1914, a motion for a rehearing was denied.
Mr. Justice Anderson, of the supreme'court of the District of Columbia, sat with the court in the hearing and determination of this appeal, in the absence of Mr. Chief Justice Shepard.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.