scandinavian tobacco v. imperial

8/13/2019 Scandinavian Tobacco v. Imperial

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Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Electronic Filing System. http://estta.uspto.gov

ESTTA Tracking number: ESTTA580629

Filing date: 01/08/2014

IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

BEFORE THE TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD

Notice of Opposition

Notice is hereby given that the following party opposes registration of the indicated application.

Opposer Information

Name Scandinavian Tobacco Group Lane Ltd.

Entity Corporation Citizenship New York

Address 2280 Mountain Industrial BoulevardTucker, GA 30084UNITED STATES

Correspondenceinformation

Janet F. SatterthwaiteVenable LLPPO Box 34385Washington, DC 20043-4385UNITED [email protected],[email protected],[email protected] Phone:202-344-4974

Applicant Information

Application No 85898370 Publication date 12/17/2013

Opposition FilingDate

01/08/2014 OppositionPeriod Ends

01/16/2014

InternationalRegistration No.

NONE InternationalRegistration Date

NONE

Applicant Imperial Tobacco LimitedP.O. Box 244, Upton RoadBristol, GBX BS997UJGBX

Goods/Services Affected by Opposition

Class 034. First Use: 0 First Use In Commerce: 0All goods and services in the class are opposed, namely: Tobacco whether manufactured orunmanufactured; tobacco products, namely, smoking tobacco and cigarillos; tobacco substitutes,none being for medicinal or curative purposes; hand rolling tobacco; cigarettes; cigarette papers;cigarette tubes; cigarette filters; pocket cigarette rolling machines; hand held machines forinjectingtobacco into paper tubes; smokers' articles, namely, lighters, cigarette cases, tobacco pouches and

tobacco tins; matches

Grounds for Opposition

Priority and likelihood of confusion Trademark Act section 2(d)

Torres v. Cantine Torresella S.r.l.Fraud 808 F.2d 46, 1 USPQ2d 1483 (Fed. Cir. 1986)

Other improper priority claim under Section 44

Marks Cited by Opposer as Basis for Opposition


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U.S. ApplicationNo.

85836728 Application Date 01/30/2013

Registration Date NONE Foreign PriorityDate

NONE

Word Mark GOLDEN VIRGINIA

Design Mark

Description ofMark

NONE

Goods/Services Class 034. First use: First Use: 0 First Use In Commerce: 0

cigarette tobacco

U.S. ApplicationNo.

85836713 Application Date 01/30/2013

Registration Date NONE Foreign PriorityDate

NONE

Word Mark VIRGINIA GOLD

Design Mark

Description ofMark

NONE

Goods/Services Class 034. First use: First Use: 0 First Use In Commerce: 0

pipe tobacco

Attachments 85836728#TMSN.jpeg( bytes )85836713#TMSN.jpeg( bytes )NOTICE OF OPPOSITION GOLDEN VIRGINIA.pdf(47616 bytes )EXH A TO NOTICE OF OPPOSITION.pdf(875095 bytes )

Certificate of Service

The undersigned hereby certifies that a copy of this paper has been served upon all parties, at their address


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record by First Class Mail on this date.

Signature /Janet F. Satterthwaite/

Name Janet F. Satterthwaite

Date 01/08/2014


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BEFORE THE TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD

IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

___________________________________)

Scandinavian Tobacco Group Lane Ltd

))

Opposer, )

)

v. ) Opposition No._________

)

) Serial No: 85898370

)

) Mark: GOLDEN VIRGINIA and Design

)

Imperial Tobacco Limited )Applicant. )

____________________________________)

Atty Ref. No.: 39240-358502

BOX: TTAB FEE

NOTICE OF OPPOSITION

In the matter of the applications for registration of the trademark GOLDEN VIRGINIA

and Design, of Imperial Tobacco Limited, (Applicant,) Application Serial No. 85898370,

filed on April 8, 2013, and published for opposition in the Official Gazette on December 17,

2013, Opposer, Scandinavian Tobacco Group Lane Ltd., a New York Corporation, (Lane)

believes that it will be damaged by registration of the mark shown in said Application and hereby

oppose the same.

As grounds in support of this opposition, Lane asserts the following:

1. Lane manufactures and sells a variety of pipe tobacco, fine-cut tobacco, and little

cigars.


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2. Lane is a subsidiary of Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S. Scandinavian Tobacco

Group is the largest manufacturer of cigars in the world, the worlds largest in pipe tobacco and a

strong regional player in fine-cut tobacco in Scandinavia and in the United States.

3. Lanes predecessor in interest, Lane Limited, was the owner of U.S. Registration

747146 for GOLDEN VIRGINIA for smoking tobacco. The registration set forth a first-use

date of 1940.

4. Registration No. 747146 was cancelled as a result of a default judgment in an inter

partesCancellation action, effective January 3, 2013.

5. Lane used the mark GOLDEN VIRGINIA in the United States for many years prior

to the earliest possible date upon which Applicant may rely. The mark was long associated with

Lanes goods.

6. On January 30, 2013, Lane filed a new application for GOLDEN VIRGINIA for

cigarette tobacco Serial No. 85836728.

7. On January 30, 2013, Lane also filed a new application for VIRGINIA GOLD for

pipe tobacco, Serial No. 85836713. Serial Nos. 85836728 and 8536713 are referred to

collectively as Lanes Applications.

8. On April 8, 2013, over three months after the filing date of Lanes Applications,

Applicant filed the subject application for .

9. The Subject Application covers Tobacco whether manufactured or unmanufactured;

tobacco products, namely, smoking tobacco and cigarillos; tobacco substitutes, none being for


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medicinal or curative purposes; hand rolling tobacco; cigarettes; cigarette papers; cigarette tubes;

cigarette filters; pocket cigarette rolling machines; hand held machines for injecting tobacco into

paper tubes; smokers' articles, namely, lighters, cigarette cases, tobacco pouches and tobacco

tins; matches.

10. These goods are highly related to Lanes goods.

11. On information and belief, Applicant did not use its mark before April 8, 2013.

IMPROPER PRIORITY CLAIM

12. Applicant included a priority claim of December 24, 2012, under Section 44 of the

Trademark Act based on a Community trademark (CTM) application, 011453156.

13. Because this priority claim appeared to give Applicant priority of Lanes

Applications, the Subject application has been cited against Lanes Applications.

14. The priority claim, however, was improper.

15. Lane is damaged by the improper priority claim because Lanes applications

would otherwise be the first filed, and the subject application would not pose a bar to use and

registration of Lanes marks.

16. A priority claim under Section 44 may only be made when the application upon

which the priority claim is based is the first filed anywhere in the world.

17. Applicant has filed numerous long-prior applications around the world for the

word mark GOLDEN VIRGINIA.

18. For example, Applicant owns CTM registration 4,392,023, for the word mark

GOLDEN VIRGINIA, which was filed in 2005 and registered in 2006, for the following goods:


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22. If the priority claim were to extend only to the design element, then the subject

application would no longer pose a bar to Lanes Applications.

BAD FAITH-FRAUD ON THE TRADEMARK OFFICE

23. On information and belief, Applicant was well aware of Lanes longtime

ownership and use of the mark GOLDEN VIRGINIA in the United States.

24. On information and belief, it was not a coincidence that Applicant filed a new CTM

application after the cancellation of Registration 747146.

25. On information and belief, Applicants CTM application, and the filing of the subject

application, was done in bad faith with respect to Lanes reputation and residual goodwill with

respect to its longtime GOLDEN VIRGINIA mark.

LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSIONFALSE ASSOCIATION OR SPONSORSHIP

26. On information and belief, consumers will be confused because of residual goodwill

derived of Lanes longtime use of its mark, as to the association or sponsorship of Lane with

Applicant.

27. For example, many state regulatory offices continue to carry Lanes GOLDEN

VIRGINIA brand on their rosters of approved tobacco brands.

28. Lane will be injured if the subject application is registered because the mark that

is the subject of the application is so similar to the residual goodwill of Lanes GOLDEN

VIRGINIA brand as to be likely to cause confusion as to the source or sponsorship by Lane of

Applicants goods.

29. Lane is likewise injured because the subject application is interfering with the

registration of Lanes Applications, and may interfere with Lanes use of same.

Please deduct the opposition fees from Deposit Account 22-0261.


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Please address correspondence to Janet F. Satterthwaite of Venable, LLP, P.O. Box

34385, Washington, D.C. 20045-9998.

Respectfully submitted,

Scandinavian Tobacco Group Lane Limited

Dated: January 8, 2014 By:

Janet F. SatterthwaiteVENABLE LLPP.O. Box 34385Washington, D.C. 20043-9998

Phone: (202) 344-4000

Fax: (202) 344-8300

Email: [email protected]


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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I HEREBY CERTIFY that on this 8th day of January, 2014, I caused a copy of theforegoing Notice of Opposition to be served by first class mail to Applicants counsel:

MARTIN R. GREENSTEIN

TECHMARK A LAW CORPORATION4820 HARWOOD RD, 2ND FLOOR

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA 95124-5200

____________________________

Janet F. Satterthwaite


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