Miller Brewing Co. v. G. Heileman Brewing Co.

Holding that "light" and "lite" are generic adjectives for beer and opining that "[o]therwise a manufacturer could remove a common descriptive word from the public domain by investing his goods with an additional quality, thus gaining the exclusive right to call his wine `rose,' his whisky `blended,' or his bread `white'"

Miller Brewing Co. v. Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co.

Holding that a relaxed concept of finality is acceptable for collateral estoppel

Princeton Vanguard, LLC v. Frito-Lay North America, Inc.

Explaining that although the "Board is not required to discuss every piece of evidence," it cannot "disregard [evidence] without explanation" or "short-cut its consideration of the factual record before it"

In re Cordua Rests., Inc.

Holding that certain words referring to key aspects of a genus of services were generic for those services

Duopross Meditech Corp. v. Inviro Med. Devices, Ltd.

Holding that, although the Board may "ascertain the meaning and weight of each of the components that makes up the mark," it "ultimately must consider the mark as a whole and do so in the context of the goods or services at issue"

In re Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner, Smith

Holding applicant's incontestable registration of a service mark for "cash management account" did not automatically entitle applicant to registration of that mark for broader financial services

In re Oppedahl & Larson LLP

Holding that courts "may weigh the individual components of the mark" to assess its overall distinctiveness

In re Hotels.com

Finding that the TTAB did not err in determining that the term was generic, citing in part concerns arising from the methodology of the applicant's consumer survey

Yamaha Intern. Corp. v. Hoshino Gakki Co.

Finding secondary meaning for shape of guitar head always appearing in advertising and promotional literature

Hunt Masters v. Landry's Seafood Restaurant

Holding that “crab house” is a generic term referring to a class of restaurants that serve crabs

Rule 12 - Defenses and Objections: When and How Presented; Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings; Consolidating Motions; Waiving Defenses; Pretrial Hearing

Granting the court discretion to exclude matters outside the pleadings presented to the court in defense of a motion to dismiss

Rule 702 - Testimony by Expert Witnesses

Adopting the Daubert standard

Section 1052 - Trademarks registrable on principal register; concurrent registration

Granting authority to refuse registration to a trademark that so resembles a registered mark "as to be likely, when used on or in connection with the goods of the applicant, to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive"

Section 1141f - Effect of filing a request for extension of protection of an international registration to the United States

Requiring a declaration of "bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce"

Section 2.122 - Matters in evidence

Providing that in inter partes proceeding, "[t]he allegation in an application for registration, or in a registration, of a date of use is not evidence on behalf of the applicant or registrant" but, rather, "a date of use of a mark must be established by competent evidence"

Section 2.71 - Amendments to correct informalities