TTABlog Test: Is CHIPPEWA VALLEY FARMS Geographically Descriptive of Canned Vegetables?

Menard’s application to register CHIPPEWA VALLEY FARMS for “canned vegetables” was accepted for the Supplemental Register, but Menard appealed the Section 2(e)(2) refusal, seeking a Principal Registration. Menard argued that Chippewa Valley is not a generally known geographic place but rather is “obscure outside of the local area.” Did you ever hear of Chippewa Valley? What state is it in? How do you think this came out? In re Menard, Inc., Serial No. 90111538 (December 21, 2022) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Karen S. Kuhlke).

The Board observed that “[a] mark is primarily geographically descriptive if: (1) the primary significance of the mark is the name of a place that is generally known; (2) the goods or services originate in the place identified in the mark; and (3) the relevant purchasers would associate the identified services with the place named, i.e., the public would believe that the services come from the place named.”

According to Wikipedia, Chippewa Valley, Wisconsin, is “the drainage basin of the Chippewa River and its tributaries, the name is more often applied to the Eau Claire-Chippewa Falls metropolitan area and the surrounding area, including communities not located within the Chippewa River’s watershed.” Menard is a company based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, with stores in 15 states.

As to the first element of the Section 2(e)(2) test, Menard contended that the primary significance of CHIPPEWA relates to the Native American tribe, and therefore there is no particular geographic connection because the Chippewa or Ojibwa people span across the United States and Canada. The Board, however, pointed out that the term CHIPPEWA VALLEY is under consideration, not CHIPPEWA. Menard acknowledged that Chippewa Valley is “an obscure valley in Wisconsin.”

Citing the Board's Broken Arrow decision, Menard argued that because the geographical distribution of its products is not limited, the relevant issue is not whether “locals” will recognize the geographic term, but whether consumers through the country will do so. The Board distinguished Broken Arrow because there the proposed mark “BA” was a local abbreviation for the area in question, there were multiple meanings of “BA,” and there was no evidence indicating nationwide exposure to the geographic term. Here, however, “many of the websites in evidence feature services such as tourism, travel, education and relocation, which would attract and even target non-local residents.”

As to the second element, the record established that Menard is located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in the Chippewa Valley. Moreover, the specimen of use “shows the can of beans is available for pick up at the store in Eau Claire West. Menard did not contest this point.

As to the third element, a goods/place association may be presumed when the geographic significance of the term at issue is its primary significance and the geographic placed is neither obscure nor remote. Again, Menard did not challenge this point, other than to contend that Chippewa Valley is obscure.

And so, the Board affirmed the refusal to register.

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TTABlogger comment: I thought "Eau Claire" was a song by Gilbert O'Sullivan:

Text Copyright John L. Welch 2022.