MASTER, WARDENS, ETC. v. Cribben & Sexton Co.
Decision Date | 11 March 1953 |
Docket Number | Patent Appeals No. 5931. |
Citation | 202 F.2d 779 |
Parties | MASTER, WARDENS, SEARCHERS, ASSISTANTS AND COMMONALTY OF CO. OF CUTLERS IN HALLAMSHIRE, YORK COUNTY v. CRIBBEN & SEXTON CO. |
Court | U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (CCPA) |
Horace Dawson, Chicago, Ill., for appellee.
Before GARRETT, Chief Judge, and O'CONNELL, JOHNSON, WORLEY, and COLE, Judges.
This is an appeal from the decision of the Commissioner of Patents affirming that of the Examiner of Trade-Mark Interferences dismissing the opposition filed by appellant against the registration on the principal register by appellee of the name "Sheffield" as a trade-mark for stoves and ranges, 90 USPQ 380; on reconsideration, 91 USPQ 247.
Appellant is the authorized agent of the British Government and lawful guardian of the right to the exclusive use of the name "Sheffield" by the manufacturers of metal goods located in Sheffield, England. Appellee is an Illinois corporation located in the city of Chicago, and its right to register the mark was sustained by the Patent Office for the stated reason that the name "Sheffield" had become distinctive in commerce of appellee's stoves and ranges under Section 2(f) of the Lanham Trade-Mark Act of 1946, 15 U.S.C.A. § 1052.
The Act has been described by the Supreme Court as a complex and controversial act which confers broad jurisdictional powers upon the courts, which powers extend beyond the boundaries of the United States and govern the conduct of its citizens and residents not only at home but also upon the high seas or even in foreign countries when the rights of other nations or their nationals are not involved. Steele v. Bulova Watch Co., 344 U.S. 280, 283-284, 73 S.Ct. 252, 254. There Justice Clark in delivering the opinion of the Court observed:
"* * * The statute\'s expressed intent is `to regulate commerce within the control of Congress by making actionable the deceptive and misleading use of marks in such commerce; to protect registered marks used in such commerce from interference by State, or territorial legislation; to protect persons engaged in such commerce against unfair competition; to prevent fraud and deception in such commerce by the use of reproductions, copies, counterfeits, or colorable imitations of registered marks; and to provide rights and remedies stipulated by treaties and conventions respecting trade-marks, trade names, and unfair competition entered into between the United States and foreign nations.\' § 45, 15 U.S.C. § 1127, 15 U.S.C.A. § 1127." Italics supplied.
The provisions of Section 2 of the Act, so far as pertinent, read as follows:
Appellant's verified Notice of Opposition declares, among other things, that appellant was incorporated by an Act of the English Parliament passed in 1624; that it is the proprietor of the unabandoned mark "Sheffield" registered on August 8, 1939 in the United States Patent Office for use on certain goods manufactured in Sheffield, England, composed wholly or in part of metal, and including such items as table and kitchen knives, table forks, and choppers, all of which are used in every kitchen with stoves and ranges; that opposer is likewise the proprietor of the registered mark "Sheffield" dated July 20, 1920, and still in force and effect in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and North Ireland for stoves and ranges manufactured in Sheffield, England, and sold throughout the world; and that the products of appellant hereinbefore described have been famous for more than 100 years throughout the civilized world, including the United States, as indicative of metal wares of the highest quality.
Rand McNally World Atlas, Readers Edition, 1943, discloses that Sheffield is located at the center of the metal-working and cutlery industry of Great Britain in and near the iron ore and coal districts of England.
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Columbia University Press, Second Edition 1950, page 1807, contains the following pertinent reference:
"Sheffield, county borough and city, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, on the Don and E of Manchester. * * *"
The Encyclopedia Britannica, Volume 20, 1942 Edition, page 479, offers the following pertinent comments:
Appellant also asserted reliance upon the provision for the repression of unfair competition on the part of appellee under Section 44(h) of the Act, 15 U.S.C.A. § 1126(h), as well as the protective benefits provided for by the treaty with the United Kingdom of Great Britain based upon the Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of the Union of Paris of March 20, 1883, revised at Brussels, Washington, The Hague, and finally enacted in permanent form at London June 2, 1934, 53 Stat. 1748. The pertinent paragraphs of Section 44, Title IX, "International Conventions," are itemized in Robert's The New Trade-Mark Manual, pages 259-260, as follows:
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