In re Bose Corp.

• Decision Date: 31 August 2009
• Docket Number: No. 2008-1448.,2008-1448.
• Parties: In re BOSE CORPORATION, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit

580 F.3d 1240

In re BOSE CORPORATION, Appellant.

No. 2008-1448.

United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit.

August 31, 2009.

Charles Hieken, Fish & Richardson P.C., of Boston, Massachusetts, argued for appellant. With him on the brief was Amy L. Brosius.

Raymond T. Chen, Solicitor, Office of the Solicitor, United States Patent and Trademark Office, of Arlington, Virginia, argued for the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

With him on the brief were Thomas V. Shaw and Christina J. Hieber, Associate Solicitors.

Susan J. Hightower, Pirkey Barber LLP, of Austin, Texas, argued for amicus curiae, American Intellectual Property Law Association. With her on the brief was William G. Barber. Of counsel on the brief was James H. Pooley, American Intellectual Property Law Association, of Arlington, Virginia.

Before MICHEL, Chief Judge, DYK, and MOORE, Circuit Judges.

MICHEL, Chief Judge.

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ("Board") found that Bose Corporation ("Bose") committed fraud on the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO") in renewing Registration No. 1,633,789 for the trademark WAVE. Bose Corp. v. Hexawave, Inc., 88 USPQ2d 1332, 1338 (T.T.A.B.2007). Bose appeals the Board's order cancelling the registration in its entirety. Because there is no substantial evidence that Bose intended to deceive the PTO in the renewal process, we reverse and remand.

I. BACKGROUND

Bose initiated an opposition against the HEXAWAVE trademark application by Hexawave, Inc. ("Hexawave"), alleging, inter alia, likelihood of confusion with Bose's prior registered trademarks, including WAVE. Bose, 88 USPQ2d at 1333. Hexawave counterclaimed for cancellation of Bose's WAVE mark, asserting that Bose committed fraud in its registration renewal application when it claimed use on all goods in the registration while knowing that it had stopped manufacturing and selling certain goods. Id.

The fraud alleged by Hexawave involves Bose's combined Section 8 affidavit of continued use and Section 9 renewal application ("Section 8/9 renewal"),¹ signed by Bose's general counsel, Mark E. Sullivan, and filed on January 8, 2001. Bose, 88 USPQ2d at 1335. In the renewal, Bose stated that the WAVE mark was still in use in commerce on various goods, including audio tape recorders and players. Id. at 1333. The Board found that (1) Bose stopped manufacturing and selling audio tape recorders and players sometime between 1996 and 1997; and (2) Mr. Sullivan knew that Bose discontinued those products when he signed the Section 8/9 renewal. Id. at 1334-35.

At the time Mr. Sullivan signed the Section 8/9 renewal, Bose continued to repair previously sold audio tape recorders and players, some of which were still under warranty. Bose, 88 USPQ2d at 1335. Mr. Sullivan testified that in his belief, the WAVE mark was used in commerce because "in the process of repairs, the product was being transported back to customers." Id. The Board concluded that the repairing and shipping back did not constitute sufficient use to maintain a trademark registration for goods. Id. at 1337. It further found Mr. Sullivan's belief that transporting repaired goods constituted use was not reasonable. Id. at 1338. Finally, the Board found that the use statement in the Section 8/9 renewal was material. Id. As a result, the Board ruled that Bose committed fraud on the PTO in maintaining the WAVE mark registration and ordered the cancellation of Bose's WAVE mark registration in its entirety. Id. Later, the same panel denied Bose's Request for Reconsideration. Bose Corp. v. Hexawave, Inc., Opposition No. 91157315, 2008 WL 1741913 (T.T.A.B. Apr. 9, 2008).

Bose appealed. Because the original appellee Hexawave did not appear, the PTO moved, and the court granted leave to the Director, to participate as the appellee. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1071(a) and 28 U.S.C § 1295(a)(4)(B).

II. DISCUSSION

This court reviews the Board's legal conclusions de novo. In re Int'l Flavors & Fragrances Inc., 183 F.3d 1361, 1365 (Fed.Cir.1999). We review the Board's factual findings for substantial evidence. Recot, Inc. v. Becton, 214 F.3d 1322, 1327 (Fed.Cir.2000).

A third party may petition to cancel a registered trademark on the ground that the "registration was obtained fraudulently." 15 U.S.C. § 1064(3). "Fraud in procuring a trademark registration or renewal occurs when an applicant knowingly makes false, material representations of fact in connection with his application." Torres v. Cantine Torresella S.r.l., 808 F.2d 46, 48 (Fed.Cir.1986). A party seeking cancellation of a trademark registration for fraudulent procurement bears a heavy burden of proof. W.D. Byron & Sons, Inc. v. Stein Bros. Mfg. Co., 54 C.C.P.A. 1442, 377 F.2d 1001, 1004 (1967). Indeed, "the very nature of the charge of fraud requires that it be proven `to the hilt' with clear and convincing evidence. There is no room for speculation, inference or surmise and, obviously, any doubt must be resolved against the charging party." Smith Int'l, Inc. v. Olin Corp., 209 USPQ 1033, 1044 (T.T.A.B.1981).

The Court of Customs and Patent Appeals ("CCPA"), our predecessor whose decisions are binding on this court, explained that, before the PTO, "[a]ny `duty' owed by an applicant for trademark registration must arise out of the statutory requirements of the Lanham Act," which prohibit an applicant from making "knowingly inaccurate or knowingly misleading statements." Bart Schwartz Int'l Textiles, Ltd. v. Fed. Trade Comm'n, 48 C.C.P.A. 933, 289 F.2d 665, 669 (1961). Therefore, the court stated that, absent the requisite intent to mislead the PTO, even a material misrepresentation would not qualify as fraud under the Lanham Act warranting cancellation. King Auto., Inc. v. Speedy Muffler King, Inc., 667 F.2d 1008, 1011 n. 4 (CCPA 1981).

Mandated by the statute and caselaw, the Board had consistently and correctly acknowledged that there is "a material legal distinction between a `false' representation and a `fraudulent' one, the latter involving an intent to deceive, whereas the former may be occasioned by a misunderstanding, an inadvertence, a mere negligent omission, or the like." Kemin Indus., Inc. v. Watkins Prods., Inc., 192 USPQ 327, 329 (T.T.A.B.1976). In other words, deception must be willful to constitute fraud. Smith Int'l, 209 USPQ at 1043; see also Woodstock's Enters. Inc. (Cal.) v. Woodstock's Enters. Inc. (Or.), 43 USPQ2d 1440, 1443 (T.T.A.B.1997); First Int'l Servs. Corp. v. Chuckles, Inc., 5 USPQ2d 1628, 1634 (T.T.A.B.1988); Giant Food, Inc. v. Standard Terry Mills, Inc., 229 USPQ 955, 962 (T.T.A.B.1986).

Several of our sister circuits have also required proof of intent to deceive before cancelling a trademark registration. See, e.g., Far Out Prods., Inc. v. Oskar, 247 F.3d 986, 996 (9th Cir.2001) (stating that an affidavit was fraudulent only if the affiant acted with scienter); Aromatique, Inc. v. Gold Seal, Inc., 28 F.3d 863, 877-78 (8th Cir.1994) (per curiam) ("In order to show that an applicant defrauded the PTO the party seeking to invalidate a mark must show that the applicant intended to mislead the PTO."); Meineke Discount Muffler v. Jaynes, 999 F.2d 120, 126 (5th Cir. 1993) ("To succeed on a claim of fraudulent registration, the challenging party must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the applicant made false statements with the intent to deceive [the PTO]."); San Juan Prods., Inc. v. San Juan Pools of Kan., Inc., 849 F.2d 468, 472 (10th Cir.1988) (stating that in determining whether a statement is fraudulent, courts must focus on the "declarant's subjective, honestly held, good faith belief" (internal quotation marks and emphasis omitted)); Money Store v. Harriscorp Fin., Inc., 689 F.2d 666, 670 (7th Cir.1982) ("Fraud will be deemed to exist only when there is a deliberate attempt to mislead the Patent Office into registering the mark.").

The Board stated in Medinol v. Neuro Vasx, Inc. that to determine whether a trademark registration was obtained fraudulently, "[t]he appropriate inquiry is ... not into the registrant's subjective intent, but rather into the objective manifestations of that intent." 67 USPQ2d 1205, 1209 (T.T.A.B.2003). We understand the Board's emphasis on the "objective manifestations" to mean that "intent must often be inferred from the circumstances and related statement made." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting First Int'l Serv., 5 USPQ2d at 1636). We agree. However, despite the long line of precedents from the Board itself, from this court, and from other circuit courts, the Board went on to hold that "[a] trademark applicant commits fraud in procuring a registration when it makes material representations of fact in its declaration which it knows or should know to be false or misleading." Id. (emphasis added). The Board has since followed this standard in several cancellation proceedings on the basis of fraud, including the one presently on appeal. See Bose, 88 USPQ2d at 1334.

By equating "should have known" of the falsity with a subjective intent, the Board erroneously lowered the fraud standard to a simple negligence standard. See Ileto v. Glock, Inc., 565 F.3d 1126, 1155 (9th Cir. 2009) ("Knowing conduct thus stands in contrast to negligent conduct, which typically requires only that the defendant knew or should have known each of the facts that made his act or omission unlawful...."); see also Davis v. Monroe County Bd. of Educ., 526 U.S. 629, 642, 119 S.Ct. 1661, 143 L.Ed.2d 839 (1999) (explaining that in Gebser v. Lago Vista Independent School District, 524 U.S. 274, 118 S.Ct. 1989, 141 L.Ed.2d 277 (1998), the Court "declined the invitation to impose liability under what amounted to a negligence standard—holding the district liable for its failure to react to teacher-student harassment of which it knew or should have known. Rather, [the Court] concluded that the district could be liable for damages only...