Swatch Seeks District Court Review of "SWAP" Opposition Dismissal

Swatch AG has filed a civil action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, under 15 U.S.C. Section 1071(b) (complaint here), seeking review of the TTAB's dismissal of its opposition to registration of the mark SWAP in stylized form for "watch faces, watch bands, slide pendants, and beaded watch bands." The Board found applicant's mark to be not merely descriptive of the goods, and not likely to cause confusion with or to dilute the registered mark SWATCH for watches, clocks, and parts. Swatch AG v. Bernard, Opposition No. 91169312 (February 23, 2011) [not precedential].


As noted in the TTABlog posting here, the civil action route will give Swatch the opportunity to submit a significant chunk of testimony and evidence that if failed to get into the record before the Board.
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