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.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- TIM & COMPANY v. CLUETT, PEABODY, & COMPANY
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Trademarks; Descriptiveness; Opposition; Interest of Opposer; Third Persons. 1. The fact that a mark is geographical and descriptive does not preclude its registration under the ten-year clause of the trademark act. (Citing Re Calm, 27 App. D. C. 173; Battle Creek Sanitarium Co. v. Fuller, 30 App. D. C. 411.) 2. Where an article is known by a certain name, and the registration of that name is sought under the ten-year clause of the trademark act, an opposition based upon the manufacture and sale of such article during the ten-year period is sufficient. (Citing Natural Food Co. v. Williams, 30 App. D. C. 348; and S. W. Johns-Mancille Co. v. American Steam Packing Co. 33 App. D. C. 224.) 3. The registration of the word “Troy” as a trademark for men’s outer shirts and collars, under the ten-year clause of the trademark act, will not be denied upon opposition wherein the opposer alleges merely that 90 per cent of the collars and a large percentage of the shirts made in the country are made by manufacturers, including the op-poser, in the city of Troy, New York, and that it has advertised and sold shirts and collars as Troy products, by marking its boxes and packages with its name followed by the words, “Troy, N. Y.,” where it has not used the word as a mark on its shirts and collars. (Citing Mcllhenny v. New Iberia Extract of Tobasco Pepper Co. 30 App. D. C. 337; Battle Greek Sanitarium Co. v. Fuller, 30 App. D. C. 411; and Underwood Typewriter Go v. A. B. Dick Co. 36 App. D. C. 175.) 4. An opposer who shows no personal interest in the subject-matter, which will preclude the registration of a mark under the ten-year clause of the trademark act, cannot assert the use of the mark by third persons in support of his opposition, since the statute limits the right to be heard to those having an interest in the subject-matter, and the interests of the public are under the protection of the Commissioner of Patents.