United TM Holdings Files Opposition to Petition for Certiorari in RAPUNZEL Consumer Standing Case.

Applicant/Appellee/Respondent United Trademark Holdings, Inc. has filed a Brief in Opposition [pdf here] to Professor Rebecca Curtin's Petition for a Writ of Certiorari [here], now pending before the Supreme Court in the RAPUNZEL trademark opposition.

You will recall that the CAFC affirmed the Board's holding that "only commercial actors affected by the mark’s registration fall within the zone of interests to oppose the registration as generic, descriptive, or [failing to function as a trademark]," and it upheld the Board's dismissal of mere consumer Curtin's opposition to registration of the mark RAPUNZEL for dolls and toy figures on the ground of lack of statutory standing. Curtin v. United Trademark Holdings, Inc., 2025 USPQ2d 784 (Fed. Cir. 2025) [precedential]. Two excerpts from the Preliminary Statement in UTH's Brief in Opposition are set out below:

The Petition for a Writ of Certiorari (“Petition”) should be denied. The Federal Circuit’s unanimous decision faithfully applies the analytical framework this Court established in Lexmark Int’l, Inc. v. Static Control Components, Inc., 572 U.S. 118 (2014), to determine whether Petitioner, a self-described consumer and not a competitor, falls within the class of persons Congress authorized to bring an opposition proceeding under the Lanham Act (the “Act”). The decision below creates no circuit split, conflicts with no precedent of this Court, and raises no question of national importance warranting the exercise of this Court’s certiorari jurisdiction. As noted, Petitioner is not a competitor of Respondent, but a law professor who has publicly promoted her role in this dispute, suggesting that her interest in appearing before this Court is principally academic rather than grounded in the vindication of a cognizable legal injury.

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Petitioner’s attempt to recast this case as presenting the question whether Article III standing requirements apply to administrative proceedings fundamentally mischaracterizes the decision below. The Federal Circuit did not impose constitutional standing requirements on the Board. It engaged in precisely the exercise this Court prescribed in Lexmark: interpreting the statutory text of 15 U.S.C. § 1063 to determine the class of persons Congress authorized to bring an opposition. That exercise in statutory construction is not only appropriate but required, regardless of the forum.

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TTABlogger comment: Do you think the Court will grant the petition? BTW: that doll looks like Paige Bueckers to me.

Text Copyright John L. Welch 2026.