Brasserie D'Achouffe, Societe Anonyme

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

Sep 26, 2013

No. 79107741 (T.T.A.B. Sep. 26, 2013)

THIS OPINION IS NOT A
PRECEDENT OF
THE TTAB

Mailed: September 26, 2013

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
________

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
________

In re Brasserie D’Achouffe, Société Anonyme
________

Serial No. 79107741
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Martin W. Schiffmiller of Kirschstein Israel Schiffmiller &
Pieroni PC for Brasserie D’Achouffe, Société Anonyme.

Robert J. Struck, Trademark Examining Attorney, Law Office
109 (Dan Vavonese, Managing Attorney).
_______

Before Holtzman, Kuhlke, and Wellington,
Administrative Trademark Judges.

Opinion by Wellington, Administrative Trademark Judge:

Applicant, Brasserie D’Achouffe, Société Anonyme,
filed an application to register the mark ACHOUFFE on the
Principal Register for “beers, namely, ale, lager, porter
and stout” in International Class 32.1
The trademark examining attorney refused registration
under Section 2(e)(2) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. §

1 The application, filed on November 3, 2011, is a request for an
extension of protection for an International Registration,
pursuant to Section 66(a) (Madrid Protocol).
Serial No. 79107741
2
1052(e)(2), on the basis that ACHOUFFE is primarily
geographically descriptive of applicant’s goods.
When the refusal was made final, applicant appealed.
Applicant and the examining attorney filed briefs.
The test for determining whether a mark is primarily
geographically descriptive is whether (1) the mark (or a
portion thereof) is the name of a place known generally to
the public, and (2) the public would make a goods/place
association, that is, believe that the goods identified in
the application originate in that place. See In re Societe
Generale des Eaux Minerales de Vittel S.A., 824 F.2d 957, 3
USPQ2d 1450 (Fed. Cir. 1987); In re Joint-Stock Co. “Baik”,
80 USPQ2d 1305 (TTAB 2006); and In re JT Tobacconists, 59
USPQ2d 1080 (TTAB 2001).
As to the initial question of whether ACHOUFFE is the
name of place generally known to the public, we look to the
Vittel decision wherein the Federal Circuit held that “it
is necessary that the purchasers perceive the mark as a
place name and this is where the question of obscurity or
remoteness comes to the fore.” 3 USPQ2d at 1452. After
reviewing a record showing that “Vittel” is the name of a
small town in France, the Federal Circuit posed the
question, “how many people in this country know that?” and
ultimately found the evidence “insufficient to show the
Serial No. 79107741
3
likelihood of [the relevant consuming public] thinking that
Vittel refers to a place where the goods come from.” Id.
Coincidentally, the Federal Circuit ended the decision by
equating the circumstances therein to two earlier Board
decisions that involved beer companies seeking registration
of geographic terms. In the first decision, In re
Brauerie: Aying Franz Inselkammer KG, 217 USPQ 73 (TTAB
1983), the Board held AYINGER BIER for beer not to be
primarily geographically descriptive because, in part,
Aying “is a tiny hamlet in Bavaria having only 500
inhabitants and does not convey a readily recognizable
geographical significance to the average consumer.” Id.
In the second Board decision, In re Bavaria St. Pauli
Brauerie Ag, 222 USPQ 926 (TTAB 1984), the term JEVER for
beer was held not primarily geographically descriptive
despite the fact that the beer comes from Jever, a town
with over 10,000 inhabitants in Germany, because the
evidence did not show that “the purchasing public in
America would expect a beer labeled ‘JEVER’ to come from
Jever, West Germany.” Id. at 928.
Here, there is no dispute that “Achouffe” is the name
of a small village in the municipality of Houffalize,
located in the Wallonia region of Belgium. The examining
attorney asserts that Achouffe is “neither remote nor
Serial No. 79107741
4
obscure” and that the record “shows that beer drinkers,
especially those who drink Belgian beer, are familiar with
the town of Achouffe.” In support, the examining attorney
submitted printouts from several websites and blogs.
Upon review of the record, we do not find the evidence
supports the examining attorney’s contention that the town
of Achouffe in Belgium is generally known to the relevant
consuming public, namely, prospective beer purchasers.
Rather, the evidence reflects that Achouffe is very much an
obscure location and would be relatively unknown to the
relevant American consumer. At most, the evidence shows
that the town of Achouffe would be known to individuals who
have become intimately familiar with applicant’s beer and,
more exactly, have visited the home town of applicant. For
example, the writer of the “Dallas Beer Snobs” blog
describes his visit to applicant’s brewery and, in doing
so, portrays the town of Achouffe as a “tiny, quiet and …
one industry town with the brewery being pretty much the
only game in town.” In a second blog (Chuck Smith’s Blog),
the writer describes what appears to be a personal “Beer
Tour of Belgium” with one segment listed as “Day 9:
Achouffe and Liege,” but later mentions driving “southwards
from Liege to Chouffe to taste beers.” Later in his blog,
he posts photographs of “Achouffe” that are clearly focused
Serial No. 79107741
5
on beer and applicant’s brewery. Although these blogs
reflect two individuals’ visits to applicant’s brewery and
the town of Achouffe, there is no indication that it is
common knowledge amongst beer drinkers that applicant’s
beer derives from the town of Achouffe or that this town
would otherwise be known to the consuming public. To the
contrary, there is a strong presumption in the blogs that
the readers thereof are not already familiar with the town
of Achouffe. Finally, there is no indication as to what
level of popularity or exposure these blog sites may
possess; thus, we cannot discern whether a reasonable
number of beer consumers have since learned of the town of
Achouffe through these sites.
The remaining evidence is equally unpersuasive for
purposes of showing that Achouffe is a known geographic
location to American beer purchasers. For example, the
“Belgium King.com” website merely lists applicant as one of
“Top 10 Belgium Brewery Cafes/Taps” and notes that
applicant’s beer has become “internationally known in very
short order.” Other than identifying the brewery’s
location in Achouffe, Belgium, there is no indication that
the town itself is known to the relevant American consuming
public.
Serial No. 79107741
6
Finally, as to the printouts from the websites
VirtualTourist.com, Tripadvisor.com, and Priceline.com,
they too contain very little information concerning the
town of Achouffe and any reliance on them would be an
exaggeration of their relevance. For example, only one
review of Achouffe is provided in the “Most Recent Things
to Do in Achouffe” section of the Virtual Tourist website
and the town itself is described as “cosy [and] tiny” and
the subject of the review essentially involves applicant’s
brewery.2 Likewise, the Trip Advisor website listing for
Achouffe merely contains one restaurant and one
“attraction” which is the applicant’s brewery. None of the
hotels or vacation rentals listed on Trip Advisor is
actually in Achouffe; rather, they are listed as being
“within 15 miles of Achouffe, Wallonia.” Thus, these sites
are unimpressive for purposes of showing that Achouffe
would be familiar to American consumers because it is a
known tourist destination.
In sum, the record does not establish that the
relevant American consumer is generally aware of the town
of Achouffe in Belgium and thus, we do not find that the

2 In addition to using the British English spelling of the word
“cozy,” the reviewing writer makes other references and variant
spellings (e.g., “draught” instead of “draft”) indicating that
his views or knowledge of the town would not necessarily reflect
that of the relevant American consumer.
Serial No. 79107741
7
consumer, upon encountering the mark “Achouffe” on beer,
would believe this term is a geographic reference to the
origin of the beer.
Decision: The refusal to register the mark ACHOUFFE
on the ground that the mark is primarily geographically
descriptive of the goods is reversed. The application will
be forwarded for publication.