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Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Electronic Filing System. http://estta.uspto.gov
ESTTA Tracking number: ESTTA580629
Filing date: 01/08/2014
IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Notice of Opposition
Notice is hereby given that the following party opposes registration of the indicated application.
Opposer Information
Name Scandinavian Tobacco Group Lane Ltd.
Entity Corporation Citizenship New York
Address 2280 Mountain Industrial BoulevardTucker, GA 30084UNITED STATES
Correspondenceinformation
Janet F. SatterthwaiteVenable LLPPO Box 34385Washington, DC 20043-4385UNITED [email protected],[email protected],[email protected] Phone:202-344-4974
Applicant Information
Application No 85898370 Publication date 12/17/2013
Opposition FilingDate
01/08/2014 OppositionPeriod Ends
01/16/2014
InternationalRegistration No.
NONE InternationalRegistration Date
NONE
Applicant Imperial Tobacco LimitedP.O. Box 244, Upton RoadBristol, GBX BS997UJGBX
Goods/Services Affected by Opposition
Class 034. First Use: 0 First Use In Commerce: 0All goods and services in the class are opposed, namely: Tobacco whether manufactured orunmanufactured; tobacco products, namely, smoking tobacco and cigarillos; tobacco substitutes,none being for medicinal or curative purposes; hand rolling tobacco; cigarettes; cigarette papers;cigarette tubes; cigarette filters; pocket cigarette rolling machines; hand held machines forinjectingtobacco into paper tubes; smokers' articles, namely, lighters, cigarette cases, tobacco pouches and
tobacco tins; matches
Grounds for Opposition
Priority and likelihood of confusion Trademark Act section 2(d)
Torres v. Cantine Torresella S.r.l.Fraud 808 F.2d 46, 1 USPQ2d 1483 (Fed. Cir. 1986)
Other improper priority claim under Section 44
Marks Cited by Opposer as Basis for Opposition
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U.S. ApplicationNo.
85836728 Application Date 01/30/2013
Registration Date NONE Foreign PriorityDate
NONE
Word Mark GOLDEN VIRGINIA
Design Mark
Description ofMark
NONE
Goods/Services Class 034. First use: First Use: 0 First Use In Commerce: 0
cigarette tobacco
U.S. ApplicationNo.
85836713 Application Date 01/30/2013
Registration Date NONE Foreign PriorityDate
NONE
Word Mark VIRGINIA GOLD
Design Mark
Description ofMark
NONE
Goods/Services Class 034. First use: First Use: 0 First Use In Commerce: 0
pipe tobacco
Attachments 85836728#TMSN.jpeg( bytes )85836713#TMSN.jpeg( bytes )NOTICE OF OPPOSITION GOLDEN VIRGINIA.pdf(47616 bytes )EXH A TO NOTICE OF OPPOSITION.pdf(875095 bytes )
Certificate of Service
The undersigned hereby certifies that a copy of this paper has been served upon all parties, at their address
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record by First Class Mail on this date.
Signature /Janet F. Satterthwaite/
Name Janet F. Satterthwaite
Date 01/08/2014
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BEFORE THE TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
IN THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
___________________________________)
Scandinavian Tobacco Group Lane Ltd
))
Opposer, )
)
v. ) Opposition No._________
)
) Serial No: 85898370
)
) Mark: GOLDEN VIRGINIA and Design
)
Imperial Tobacco Limited )Applicant. )
____________________________________)
Atty Ref. No.: 39240-358502
BOX: TTAB FEE
NOTICE OF OPPOSITION
In the matter of the applications for registration of the trademark GOLDEN VIRGINIA
and Design, of Imperial Tobacco Limited, (Applicant,) Application Serial No. 85898370,
filed on April 8, 2013, and published for opposition in the Official Gazette on December 17,
2013, Opposer, Scandinavian Tobacco Group Lane Ltd., a New York Corporation, (Lane)
believes that it will be damaged by registration of the mark shown in said Application and hereby
oppose the same.
As grounds in support of this opposition, Lane asserts the following:
1. Lane manufactures and sells a variety of pipe tobacco, fine-cut tobacco, and little
cigars.
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2. Lane is a subsidiary of Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S. Scandinavian Tobacco
Group is the largest manufacturer of cigars in the world, the worlds largest in pipe tobacco and a
strong regional player in fine-cut tobacco in Scandinavia and in the United States.
3. Lanes predecessor in interest, Lane Limited, was the owner of U.S. Registration
747146 for GOLDEN VIRGINIA for smoking tobacco. The registration set forth a first-use
date of 1940.
4. Registration No. 747146 was cancelled as a result of a default judgment in an inter
partesCancellation action, effective January 3, 2013.
5. Lane used the mark GOLDEN VIRGINIA in the United States for many years prior
to the earliest possible date upon which Applicant may rely. The mark was long associated with
Lanes goods.
6. On January 30, 2013, Lane filed a new application for GOLDEN VIRGINIA for
cigarette tobacco Serial No. 85836728.
7. On January 30, 2013, Lane also filed a new application for VIRGINIA GOLD for
pipe tobacco, Serial No. 85836713. Serial Nos. 85836728 and 8536713 are referred to
collectively as Lanes Applications.
8. On April 8, 2013, over three months after the filing date of Lanes Applications,
Applicant filed the subject application for .
9. The Subject Application covers Tobacco whether manufactured or unmanufactured;
tobacco products, namely, smoking tobacco and cigarillos; tobacco substitutes, none being for
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medicinal or curative purposes; hand rolling tobacco; cigarettes; cigarette papers; cigarette tubes;
cigarette filters; pocket cigarette rolling machines; hand held machines for injecting tobacco into
paper tubes; smokers' articles, namely, lighters, cigarette cases, tobacco pouches and tobacco
tins; matches.
10. These goods are highly related to Lanes goods.
11. On information and belief, Applicant did not use its mark before April 8, 2013.
IMPROPER PRIORITY CLAIM
12. Applicant included a priority claim of December 24, 2012, under Section 44 of the
Trademark Act based on a Community trademark (CTM) application, 011453156.
13. Because this priority claim appeared to give Applicant priority of Lanes
Applications, the Subject application has been cited against Lanes Applications.
14. The priority claim, however, was improper.
15. Lane is damaged by the improper priority claim because Lanes applications
would otherwise be the first filed, and the subject application would not pose a bar to use and
registration of Lanes marks.
16. A priority claim under Section 44 may only be made when the application upon
which the priority claim is based is the first filed anywhere in the world.
17. Applicant has filed numerous long-prior applications around the world for the
word mark GOLDEN VIRGINIA.
18. For example, Applicant owns CTM registration 4,392,023, for the word mark
GOLDEN VIRGINIA, which was filed in 2005 and registered in 2006, for the following goods:
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22. If the priority claim were to extend only to the design element, then the subject
application would no longer pose a bar to Lanes Applications.
BAD FAITH-FRAUD ON THE TRADEMARK OFFICE
23. On information and belief, Applicant was well aware of Lanes longtime
ownership and use of the mark GOLDEN VIRGINIA in the United States.
24. On information and belief, it was not a coincidence that Applicant filed a new CTM
application after the cancellation of Registration 747146.
25. On information and belief, Applicants CTM application, and the filing of the subject
application, was done in bad faith with respect to Lanes reputation and residual goodwill with
respect to its longtime GOLDEN VIRGINIA mark.
LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSIONFALSE ASSOCIATION OR SPONSORSHIP
26. On information and belief, consumers will be confused because of residual goodwill
derived of Lanes longtime use of its mark, as to the association or sponsorship of Lane with
Applicant.
27. For example, many state regulatory offices continue to carry Lanes GOLDEN
VIRGINIA brand on their rosters of approved tobacco brands.
28. Lane will be injured if the subject application is registered because the mark that
is the subject of the application is so similar to the residual goodwill of Lanes GOLDEN
VIRGINIA brand as to be likely to cause confusion as to the source or sponsorship by Lane of
Applicants goods.
29. Lane is likewise injured because the subject application is interfering with the
registration of Lanes Applications, and may interfere with Lanes use of same.
Please deduct the opposition fees from Deposit Account 22-0261.
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Please address correspondence to Janet F. Satterthwaite of Venable, LLP, P.O. Box
34385, Washington, D.C. 20045-9998.
Respectfully submitted,
Scandinavian Tobacco Group Lane Limited
Dated: January 8, 2014 By:
Janet F. SatterthwaiteVENABLE LLPP.O. Box 34385Washington, D.C. 20043-9998
Phone: (202) 344-4000
Fax: (202) 344-8300
Email: [email protected]
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY that on this 8th day of January, 2014, I caused a copy of theforegoing Notice of Opposition to be served by first class mail to Applicants counsel:
MARTIN R. GREENSTEIN
TECHMARK A LAW CORPORATION4820 HARWOOD RD, 2ND FLOOR
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA 95124-5200
____________________________
Janet F. Satterthwaite
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