Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Intellectual Property Law Blogs -> The TTABlog

Intellectual Property Law

: The TTABlog

TTAB Reverses 2(d) Refusal: PTO Failed to Show "HEART" and "KOKORO" Confusingly Similar for Restaurant Services

The PTO unsuccessfully invoked the doctrine of foreign equivalents in claiming that Applicant's mark HEART for "cocktail lounges; restaurant and bar services" is likely to cause confusion with the registered mark KOKORO, in standard character and design form (below), for restaurant services. Although the cited registration stated that "[t]he English translation of 'KOKORO' is 'heart,'" the Board found the PTO's evidence of that English meaning to be insufficient to support the refusal. In re OpBiz, LLC, Serial No. 77055011 (March 20, 2009) [not precedential].The Examining Attorney attached four items of evidence to her appeal brief, and Applicant objected on the ground of untimeliness. See Rule 2.142(d) and TBMP Section 1207.01. The Examining Attorney then asked the Board to take judicial notice of the evidence...continue to full post

Full post as published by The TTABlog on March 24, 2009 (boomark / email).