United Vitamin Mfg. Corp.

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

Nov 29, 2000

No. 75246892 (T.T.A.B. Nov. 29, 2000)

Paper No. 17
HRW
11/29/00
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
________
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
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In re United Vitamin Manufacturing Corp.
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Serial No. 75/246,892
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Olga Gonzalez for United Vitamin Manufacturing Corp.
Barney L. Charlon, Trademark Examining Attorney, Law Office
105 (Thomas G. Howell, Managing Attorney).
_______
Before Wendel, Bottorff and Holtzman, Administrative
Trademark Judges.
Opinion by Wendel, Administrative Trademark Judge:
United Vitamin Manufacturing Corp. has filed an
application to register the mark COMPLETE for “vitamins,
minerals and nutritional supplements sold in solid tablet
form through retail establishments.”1
Registration has been finally refused on the ground
that the mark is merely descriptive under Section 2(e)(1)
of the Trademark Act. The final refusal was appealed and

1 Serial No. 75/246,892, filed February 24, 1997, claiming first
use dates of August 21, 1996.
THIS DISPOSITION
IS NOT CITABLE AS PRECEDENT
OF THE T.T.A.B.
Ser No. 75/246,892
2
both applicant and the Examining Attorney have filed
briefs. An oral hearing was not requested.
The Examining Attorney maintains that the mark
COMPLETE merely describes a characteristic or feature of
applicant’s goods, in that the term “complete” is
recognized in the dietary supplement industry as a “term of
art” for supplements which contain a full complement of
vitamins and minerals. He points out that, from the
specimens of record, it is clear that applicant’s goods are
of this type, being labeled as a “Multi-Vitamin & Multi-
Mineral Formula.” As support for his position, the
Examining Attorney has made of evidence both Nexis excerpts
and Internet printouts showing use of the term “complete”
to describe dietary supplements of this nature. For
example, we note
You may be surprised to find that some multis which
claim to be “complete” contain vitamins only, or have
just a few vitamins and minerals. But the more of the
following nine nutrients a multi contains in levels
close to those recommended by experts, the more
complete it is. The Sunday Gazette Mail (November
23, 1997;
... family history of heart disease. These factors
help determine my regime. I take an inexpensive brand
of a complete vitamin/mineral supplement several times
per week, and I take ... Portland Press Herald
(April 15, 1998);
Ser No. 75/246,892
3
... This brand is similar to Centrum in that it is a
premium product that is marketed as a “complete”
supplement. Multivitamin + mineral supplements are in
fact almost as popular as multivitamins on their own,
and there is a growing trend towards these products.
OTC News & Market Report (November 1998);
... offer these vitamins and minerals in our diet, but
often a normal portion of these are insufficient to
fulfill our daily needs. That is why a complete
vitamin and mineral supplement is recommended to make
sure ... The Jupiter Courier (May 19, 1999).
Applicant contends that this evidence shows nothing
more than use of the word “complete” in advertising or
journalism copy; that it does not show use of “complete” as
a term of art or that it has a definite meaning in the
dietary supplement industry. Applicant argues that its
mark COMPLETE represents a broad, abstract concept and does
not immediately convey information with respect to
applicant’s goods. Applicant points to several third-party
registrations on the Principal Register for the mark
COMPLETE for various goods as evidence of its capability of
being recognized as a trademark.
A term or phrase is merely descriptive within the
meaning of Section 2(e)(1) if it immediately conveys
information about a characteristic or feature of the goods
with which it is being used. Whether or not a particular
term is merely descriptive is not determined in the
abstract, but rather in relation to the goods for which
Ser No. 75/246,892
4
registration is sought, the context in which the mark is
being used, and the significance the mark is likely to
have, because of the manner in which it is used, to the
average purchaser as he encounters the goods bearing the
mark. See In re Abcor Development Corp., 588 F.2d 811, 200
USPQ 215 (CCPA 1978). It is not necessary that the term or
phrase describe all the characteristics or features of the
goods in order to be merely descriptive; it is sufficient
if the term describes one significant attribute thereof.
See In re Pennzoil Products Co., 20 USPQ2d 1753 (TTAB
1991).
We find the Examining Attorney’s evidence adequate to
establish that the term “complete” is frequently used to
describe a dietary supplement containing a full complement
of vitamins and minerals. While we do not find the
evidence sufficient to show that “complete” is a “term of
art” in the dietary supplement field, as argued by the
Examining Attorney, we do not consider such a level of
usage necessary in order to find the term merely
descriptive of applicant’s goods. A term is merely
descriptive within the meaning of Section 2(e)(1) so long
as it immediately conveys information about a
characteristic or feature of the goods to potential
purchasers. The question is the significance of COMPLETE
Ser No. 75/246,892
5
to ordinary purchasers upon encountering the mark being
used in connection with applicant’s supplements.
We have no doubt that these purchasers would
immediately perceive the term COMPLETE as an indication of
the multi-vitamin, multi-mineral content of the
supplements. The ordinary dictionary meaning of the term
“complete,” as including all the essential components, is
clearly applicable to a product of this nature.2 Moreover,
the evidence shows that the term has been used by others in
connection with dietary supplements with this connotation.
The manner in which applicant uses the term on its labels,
directly above the words “High Potency Multi-Vitamin &
Multi-Mineral Formula,” only reinforces the interpretation
of COMPLETE as a descriptor of the all-inclusive content of
this particular supplement.
Insofar as the third-party registrations cited by
applicant are concerned, COMPLETE is being used as a mark
therein with totally different goods or services, ranging
from furniture polish to banking services. The issue of
descriptiveness must be determined with respect to the
goods for which registration is sought, not in the

2 We take judicial notice of the following dictionary definition:
complete 1a. possessing all necessary parts, items,
components, or elements : not lacking anything
necessary Webster’s Third New International
Dictionary (1993).
Ser No. 75/246,892
6
abstract. Thus, the fact that the same mark may have been
registered for other goods or services is irrelevant to the
present determination. Furthermore, the question before us
is not whether the term COMPLETE, as being used by
applicant, is capable of functioning as a trademark, but
rather whether it is merely descriptive and, thus,
registrable only if applicant is able to establish acquired
distinctiveness under the provisions of Section 2(f).
Accordingly, we find the term COMPLETE, when used in
connection with applicant’s vitamins, minerals, and
nutritional supplements, merely descriptive.
Decision: The refusal to register under Section
2(e)(1) is affirmed.
H. R. Wendel
C. M. Bottorff
T. E. Holtzman
Administrative Trademark Judges,
Trademark Trial and Appeal Board