Suvir Saran

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

Jan 18, 2008

No. 78713958 (T.T.A.B. Jan. 18, 2008)

Mailed:
Jan. 18, 2008

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
________

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
________

In re Suvir Saran
________

Serial No. 78713958
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Andy I. Corea of St.Onge Steward Johnston & Reens LLC for
Suvir Saran.

Janice L. McMorrow, Trademark Examining Attorney, Law
Office 115 (Tomas V. Vlcek, Managing Attorney).
_______

Before Grendel, Kuhlke and Wellington, Administrative
Trademark Judges.

Opinion by Grendel, Administrative Trademark Judge:

Suvir Saran, applicant herein, seeks registration on
the Principal Register of the mark AMERICAN MASALA (in
standard character form) for goods and services identified
in the application as “foodstuff product lines, namely,
sauces, spices, spice blends, food flavorings, seasonings,
curry powder, prepared entrees consisting primarily of
THIS OPINION IS NOT A
PRECEDENT OF THE TTAB
Ser. No. 78713958
2
rice,” in Class 30, and “restaurant services” in Class 43.1
Regarding the word MASALA, applicant has supplied the
following translation statement: “The foreign wording in
the mark translates into English as ‘Spice’.” Applicant
has disclaimed the exclusive right to use MASALA apart from
the mark as shown.
The Trademark Examining Attorney has issued a final
refusal to register applicant’s mark on the ground that the
mark, when used on or in connection with the identified
goods and services, is primarily geographically descriptive
of them. Trademark Act Section 2(e)(2), 15 U.S.C.
§1052(e)(2). Applicant has appealed the final refusal.
After careful consideration of the evidence of record
and the arguments of counsel, we affirm the refusal to
register.
A mark is deemed to be primarily geographically
descriptive, and thus unregistrable under Trademark Act
Section 2(e)(2), if (i) the primary significance of the
mark is the name of a place known generally to the public,
and (ii) the public would make a goods/place association,
that is, believe that the goods or services for which the

1 Serial No. 78713958, filed on September 15, 2005. The
application is based on applicant’s asserted bona fide intention
to use the mark in commerce. Trademark Act Section 1(b), 15
U.S.C. §1051(b).

Ser. No. 78713958
3
mark is sought to be registered originate in that place.
If those two elements are met, and if the applicant’s goods
and/or services in fact originate in or from the place
named, then the mark is primarily geographically
descriptive, and registration must be refused under Section
2(e)(2). See In re Joint-Stock Co. “Baik”, 80 USPQ2d 1305
(TTAB 2006); In re California Pizza Kitchen Inc., 10 USPQ2d
1704 (TTAB 1988).
For the reasons discussed below, we find that the
Trademark Examining Attorney has submitted evidence
sufficient to make out a prima facie case that applicant’s
mark is primarily geographically descriptive of applicant’s
goods and services. We further find that applicant has
failed to rebut the Trademark Examining Attorney’s prima
facie showing.
First, we find that the primary significance of the
mark AMERICAN MASALA is that of a generally known
geographic place, i.e., the United States of America,
because the mark merely combines the geographic term
AMERICAN with the generic or descriptive word MASALA. See
In re J.T. Tobacconists, 59 USPQ2d 1080 (TTAB 2001); In re
Carolina Apparel, 48 USPQ2d 1542 (TTAB 1998); In re
California Pizza Kitchen, Inc., supra.
Ser. No. 78713958
4
AMERICAN is the adjectival form of AMERICA, a
generally known geographic place. The word is defined as
“of or relating to the United States of America or its
people, language, or culture.” (The American Heritage
Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed. 2000)).2 The
adjectival form of a geographic term is itself a geographic
term for purposes of our geographic descriptiveness
analysis. See In re Joint-Stock Co. “Baik”, supra;
American Paper & Plastics Products, Inc. v. American
Automatic Vending Corp., 152 USPQ 117 (TTAB 1966).
Applicant’s translation statement in the application
indicates that MASALA means “spice,” and applicant has
disclaimed the word. The Trademark Examining Attorney has
submitted dictionary evidence which defines “masala” as “a
mixture of spices ground into a paste or powder and used in
Indian cookery.” (Compact Oxford English Dictionary). Also
of record is a glossary entry of “masala” which, in
pertinent part, describes it as “spices, herbs and other
seasonings ground or pounded together. When wet
ingredients like water, vinegar, yogurt etc. are added to
the spice mixture it is appropriately called a ‘wet

2 The Board may take judicial notice of dictionary definitions.
See University of Notre Dame du Lac v. J.C. Gourmet Food Imports
Co., 213 USPQ 594 (TTAB 1982), aff’d, 703 F.2d 1372, 217 USPQ 505
(Fed. Cir. 1983).

Ser. No. 78713958
5
masala.’ Dry spice mixtures are also called ‘Garam masala’
or commonly known in the world as ‘Curry powder.’”
(Glossary of Indian Food & Cooking Terms, at
www.cuisinecuisine.com.)
Based on this evidence, we find that MASALA is generic for
certain of applicant’s Class 30 goods, i.e., “spices, spice
blends, food flavorings, seasonings, curry powder,” and
that it at the least is merely descriptive of applicant’s
Class 43 “restaurant services,” which must be presumed to
include restaurants serving Indian dishes which feature
masala.
Having considered the words AMERICAN and MASALA
separately, we further find that the composite AMERICAN
MASALA would be perceived primarily as the name of the
place of origin of applicant’s goods and services. It
primarily connotes “masala in or from America,” i.e.,
“American masala.” For all of these reasons, we find that
the Trademark Examining Attorney has established, prima
facie, the first element of her Section 2(e)(2) refusal.
Applicant attempts to rebut this prima facie showing,
arguing that the composite AMERICAN MASALA “creates a
popular, separate, non-geographic meaning.”
First, applicant contends that MASALA “has prominent
meanings other than ‘a mixture of spices.’” Specifically,
Ser. No. 78713958
6
applicant contends that the term MASALA “has evolved far
beyond this singular meaning to encompass much more,
including the blending of [Indian] art, entertainment,
literature and cuisine.” In support of this contention,
applicant relies on references to “masala” from six
Internet websites.
The first reference appears at www.masala.de, to what
appears to be a musical group based in Germany named
“Masala The text on the webpage reads: “Masala is an
outstanding global music and dance experience, where music,
dance and rhythm are joint [sic] together in a perfect
manner, enhanced by special light and stage effects. Music
elements from jazz, pop and rock are blended here together
in a perfect manner with the most sophisticated classical
music and dance forms of South India.”
The second Internet reference to “masala” upon which
applicant relies is found at www.thecore.nus.edu,
consisting of an undated article entitled “The ‘Masala’
Film Recipe.” The text of the article includes: “At the
end of the seventies this film genre was nicknamed masala,
which in Hindi means an assortment of spices used to
prepare what is commonly known as curry. The term masala
alludes to the whole range of genres and emotions that one
can expect to find in a Bollywood film.”
Ser. No. 78713958
7
Applicant’s third Internet reference to “masala” is
found at www.amazon.co.uk, consisting of a listing for a
paperback book titled “Gypsy Masala.” Nothing other than
the title appears in the listing.
The fourth Internet reference to “masala” is found at
www.imdb.com (“Earth’s Biggest Movie Database”), and
consists of an entry for the 1991 American movie called
“Mississippi Masala,” starring Denzel Washington. The
entry includes reviews or comments from viewers of the
movie, but there is nothing in the entry referring
specifically to or using the term “masala.”
The fifth reference is found at
www.hollywoodmasala.com. The nature of this website is not
clear, but it appears to be a website for aspiring actors
from India. Aside from the domain name, no other reference
to “masala” appears.
The final Internet reference to “masala” upon which
applicant relies is found at http://alternet.org, which
consists of an April 30, 2004 article entitled “Bollywood
Ain’t ‘World Cinema.’” This article, which is fairly long
and apparently academic in nature, has three scattered
references to “masala” in connection with Indian film:

Perhaps because of its traditional storyline and
epic scale, Devdas was selected to be screened at
Ser. No. 78713958
8
the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in 2002,
becoming one of the only popular Bollywood masala
flicks to ever make it to this exclusive Euro-
snooty art-house arena;

If Americans watching Indian films expect to see
some sensitive high-art treatment of poor or
premodern natives, then what happens when they
are confronted with the cultural pastiche and
masala of those musical-style spectacles churned
out by the decidedly non-high-culture film
factory for the masses that is Bollywood?; and

Over here in the US that set of interpretations
tends to either reinforce tropes of classic
Orientalism, freeze modern Indian masala culture
into kitschy spectacle (as in the opening
sequence of the indie classic Ghost World), or
take the high-handed road of rejecting cultural
hybridization as an unacceptable example of the
McDonaldization of art.

Based on this evidence, applicant argues that MASALA
has a meaning other than “spice,” i.e., a connotation of
“Indian culture,” which would be perceived readily by
purchasers in America, especially persons of Indian
descent.
Applicant next argues that this second meaning of
MASALA, when combined with the word AMERICAN, results in a
composite which has a non-geographic significance. “In
fact, the previous analysis shows that ‘MASALA’ has evolved
to change the commercial impression of the proposed mark
from ‘American spice-blends’ to ‘Indo-American cultural
blends.” “As such, those familiar with the term
Ser. No. 78713958
9
(especially those of Indian descent currently living in
America) may broadly associate AMERICAN MASALA with
products originating in India and reflecting the Indian
culture in America.” Applicant argues that “...by
incorporating ‘MASALA’ and its various definitions, the
mark AMERICAN MASALA clearly creates a readily and globally
understood meaning which is non-geographic – it refers to
the artistic expression of Indian culture through the lens
of the American culture.” Applicant further argues that
“[w]hen used in connection with the goods of the Applicant,
AMERICAN MASALA acquires a desirable connotation of rich
Indian culture, cuisine, and entertainment. The
Applicant’s creative combination of ‘AMERICAN’ and ‘MASALA’
symbolizes the merge of two cultures to create a unique
culinary experience.” Similarly, “...when considered in
its entirety, the primary significance of the AMERICAN
MASALA mark is a reference to the unique blend of the
American and Indian cultures.”
We have carefully considered applicant’s argument, but
we find that the evidence applicant has submitted fails to
support the argument. Specifically, we find that these few
and fleeting references to “masala” in the Internet
evidence submitted by applicant fall far short of
establishing that the American public, upon encountering
Ser. No. 78713958
10
the term used in connection with food products and
restaurant services presumably featuring masala, would
readily understand “masala” to refer to Indian culture
generally, rather than to its obvious and primary culinary
significance. We also find that the “double meaning”
applicant asserts for the composite AMERICAN MASALA, i.e.,
that it reflects the blending of Indian and American
cultures, would be much too subtle and tenuous to be
readily understood by relevant purchasers.
In short, we find that notwithstanding applicant’s
Internet evidence, the primary significance of AMERICAN
MASALA to the American purchasing public, as applied to
applicant’s goods and services, would be its geographic
significance, i.e., food products and restaurant services
featuring Indian spices or masala, which originate in or
from America. Applicant’s evidence is insufficient to
rebut the Trademark Examining Attorney’s prima facie
showing under the first element of the Section 2(e)(2)
refusal that the primary significance of the mark is that
of a generally known place.
The second element of the refusal also is established
in this case. It appears from the application that
applicant is located in New York City; applicant does not
contend otherwise. New York City is located in America.
Ser. No. 78713958
11
Because applicant is located in America, and because
America is not an obscure or remote place, we may presume
that a goods/place and services/place association exists
between applicant’s goods and services and the place named
in the mark. See In re Joint-Stock Co. “Baik”, supra; In
re Carolina Apparel, supra. Nothing in the record rebuts
such a presumption.
Because the primary significance of the mark is that
of a generally known place, and because there exists a
goods/place and services/place association between
applicant’s goods and services and the place named in the
mark, and because applicant’s goods and services in fact
originate in or from the place named in the mark, we
conclude that applicant’s mark is primarily geographically
descriptive of applicant’s goods and services, and that
registration therefore must be refused under Trademark Act
Section 2(e)(2).

Decision: The refusal to register is affirmed.