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Carroll Shelby's Cobra Design Marks Survive Feeble TTAB Challenge

Unique Motors spent more than seven years on the TTAB track, but got nowhere in its oppositions to registration of the product configuration marks shown below, for automobiles. Unique, a maker of replica Cobra vehicles, pleaded lack of acquired distinctiveness, abandonment, genericness, and fraud, but it made a big mistake: Unique failed to submit any admissible evidence during its testimony period. Unique Motorcars v. Carroll Hall Shelby Trust, Oppositions No. 91150352 and 91155242 (March 4, 2009) [not precedential].Unique did submit one item of evidence during its testimony period: a discovery deposition of its own witness. That was plainly improper, and the deposition was stricken on Shelby's motion. Shelby could then have moved for judgment based upon Unique's failure to present a prima facie case [TTABlog query: why couldn't the Board just pull the plug right there?], but instead Shelby decided to proceed with its case...continue to full post

Full post as published by The TTABlog on March 16, 2009 (boomark / email).