Warner-Hudnut, Inc. v. WANDER COMPANY
| Decision Date | 20 July 1960 |
| Docket Number | Patent Appeal No. 6533. |
| Citation | 126 USPQ 411,280 F.2d 435 |
| Parties | WARNER-HUDNUT, INC. (Warner-Lambert Pharmaceutical Company, Substituted) v. WANDER COMPANY. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (CCPA) |
Davis, Lindsey, Hibben & Noyes, Albert W. Bicknell, Chicago, Ill. (George N. Hibben, Chicago, Ill., of counsel), for appellee.
Before WORLEY, Chief Judge, RICH, MARTIN and SMITH, Judges, and Judge WILLIAM H. KIRKPATRICK.*
The appellant, Warner-Hudnut, Inc., filed a petition for cancellation of the appellee's registered trademark, "Wander." The Assistant Commissioner affirmed the examiner's dismissal of the petition to cancel and this appeal followed.
The question presented by the appeal is a very simple one and, although counsel have managed to pile up more than 400 pages of record and 80 pages of brief, we think it can be dealt with in a very few paragraphs. The question is simply whether "Wander," applied to a drug used chiefly in the treatment of tuberculosis, is likely to cause confusion with "Warner," used for a wide range of pharmaceuticals. The Assistant Commissioner decided that it was not. We agree.
Warner has used its trademark extensively since 1920, has spent large sums on advertising and enjoys a very valuable goodwill, symbolized by the mark which has acquired a secondary meaning in the field of pharmaceuticals. Wander has used its trademark (which was, in fact, the surname of the founder of the business) since 1951 for the tuberculosis remedy, known as "P.A.S." These facts were taken into consideration by the Assistant Commissioner in reaching her decision as appears from her opinion.
The appellant complains of a number of errors on the part of the Assistant Commissioner, the chief ones being that the conclusions reached by her as to the connotations of the words were not supported by enough evidence1 but were intuitive or subjective. We think that her conclusions would have been proper had there been no evidence at all. It did not require evidence to enable the Assistant Commissioner to conclude that Wander is a common word and unlikely to create a surname impression and that Warner, although having a common meaning, albeit one seldom met with, creates the impression of being a surname.
In determining whether a likelihood of confusion exists between trademarks "the judgment of the eye and ear is more satisfactory than evidence...
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...purchasing decisions. Surgeons constitute a "highly intelligent and discriminating public." Warner-Hudnut, Inc. v. Wander Co., 47 C.C.P.A. 1172, 280 F.2d 435, 436 (Cust.&Pat.App.1960); see also Astra Pharmaceutical, 718 F.2d at 1206-07. "[S]ophistication is important and often dispositive b......
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Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp. v. American Cyanamid Co.
...and use of the product in question can be expected. See Callman, supra, vol. 3, § 81.2(c), at 599, 600; Warner-Hudnut, Inc. v. Wander Co., 280 F.2d 435, 436, 47 C.C.P.A. 1172 (1960). Additionally, because of the way in which the generic drug is ordered and used (Findings 31-35), the skilled......
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Citrus Group, Inc. v. Cadbury Beverages, Inc.
...Baker v. Simmons Co., 307 F.2d 458 (1st Cir.1962). As the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals stated in Warner-Hudnut, Inc. v. Wander Co., 280 F.2d 435, 436 (U.S.Ct. of Customs and Patent Appeals 1960), "in determining whether a likelihood of confusion exists between trademark......
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In re McGinley, 81-502.
...courts on the issue of likelihood of confusion are often subjective detract from their validity. See Warner-Hudnut, Inc. v. Wander Co., 280 F.2d 435, 47 CCPA 1172, 126 USPQ 411 (1960); Vandenburgh, Trademark Law and Procedure 141 (2d ed. 1968) and cases cited. Accordingly, we conclude that ......