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Precedential No. 24: TTAB Says Reference to Documents (in Russian) Does Not Satisfy FRCP 33(d)

Applicant WDS responded to certain interrogatories by referencing its business records, pursuant to FRCP 33(b). The documents were in Russian. Opposers moved to compel supplemental responses that did not reference the Russian documents. The Board granted the motion to compel. Johnson & Johnson and RoC International S.A.R.L. v. Obschestvo s ogranitchennoy;otvetstvennostiu "WDS", Oppositions Nos. 91182207 and 91184467 (June 16, 2010) [precedential].Under TTAB precedent, a party seeking to invoke Rule 33(b) must meet three conditions: (1) it "must identify documents which the responding party knows to contain the responsive information, and may not merely agree to provide access to a voluminous collection of records which may contain the responsive information;" (2) it "may not rely on the option to produce business records unless it can establish that providing written responses would impose a significant burden on the party;" and (3) even if the responding party meets the above two requirements and ?can identify particular documents in which the inquiring party will find its answers, the inquiring party must not be left with any greater burden than the responding party when searching through and inspecting the records...continue to full post

Full post as published by The TTABlog on June 25, 2010 (boomark / email).