Drexel Enterprises, Inc., a Corporation v. J. R. Richardson and M. E. Deruy, Partners Doing Business as Heritage House

312 F.2d 525, 136 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 25, 1962 U.S. App. LEXIS 3564
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedNovember 21, 1962
Docket6927
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 312 F.2d 525 (Drexel Enterprises, Inc., a Corporation v. J. R. Richardson and M. E. Deruy, Partners Doing Business as Heritage House) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Drexel Enterprises, Inc., a Corporation v. J. R. Richardson and M. E. Deruy, Partners Doing Business as Heritage House, 312 F.2d 525, 136 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 25, 1962 U.S. App. LEXIS 3564 (10th Cir. 1962).

Opinions

SETH, Circuit Judge.

Appellant brought this action for unfair competition and trademark infringement. It was tried without a jury, and the court found for appellee on all significant points.

Appellant is a manufacturer of furniture which is sold under the mark “Heritage” throughout the United States by its retail dealers. Its sales total in 1961 was about ten million dollars, and a national advertising program is carried on.

Appellee is a retail furniture store in Pittsburg, Kansas, with annual sales of about fifty thousand dollars and with a trade area having a radius of about thirty-five miles. Appellee does not sell appellant’s products but adopted the name “Heritage House” for this retail store in October 1957. The record shows no deceit or fraud by appellee, and no attempt to “palm off” products of others as those of appellant; consequently the only questions here relate to appellant’s “trademark.”

The appellee at the trial urged that appellant had no trademark; that if it ever had such a mark, it was abandoned; that a secondary meaning was required for the word “Heritage” and none was shown, and there was no infringement anyway.

On the question of whether appellant had a valid trademark in the word “Heritage,” the trial court in a conclusion of law stated that the “plaintiff had failed to establish that the trademark ‘Heritage’ had a long and distinctive use which is entitled to protection.” This court has defined a trademark in Reynolds & Reynolds Co. v. Norick, 114 F.2d 278 (10th Cir.), and also in Ph. Schneider Brewing [527]*527Co. v. Century Distilling Co., 107 F.2d 699 (10th Cir.), to be “a distinctive mark of authenticity through which the merchandise of a particular producer or manufacturer may be distinguished from that of others,” and further that the function of a trademark is to designate, identify, and point out distinctively the origin of the products to which it is attached. There must be a use of a trademark in order to give it validity. This actual use must be under circumstances which show that the user intends to adopt the mark or device as a trademark. The extent or duration of use is of no particular significance other than to the extent that it demonstrates this intention to adopt. The evidence clearly shows that the appellant did make use of the mark “Heritage” on the furniture it manufactured as a distinctive mark to identify the maker and to show the origin of the furniture. This use showed intention to adopt it as a trademark; this was sufficient, and any additional “long” use is not required.

[ 5 ] The appellant showed tha tit owned two federal registrations of the mark “Heritage.” A certificate of registration of a trademark is prima facie evidence of the validity of the mark and of the registrant’s right to use it as specified in the certificate (15 U.S.C. §§ 1057(b) and 1115(a)). The presumption raised by registration is of course a rebuttable one, National Nu Grape Co. v. Guest, 164 F.2d 874 (10th Cir.), but it was not rebutted in the case at bar.

Appellee urged in the trial court that if there had been a valid mark, it was abandoned. The evidence shows that the mark when first used in 1939 was the word “Heritage” written in script on a slant. In 1949 pursuant to an agreement with Henredon Furniture Industries, the two commenced the use of the mark “Heritage-Henredon” which continued until 1956. The appellant then resumed the use of the word “Heritage” alone and at this time changed the appearance of its mark and began using the word “Heritage” in block letters written on a straight line. A mere change in form of a mark is not of itself an abandonment of the previous form or of a trademark. Nashville Syrup Co. v. Coca Cola Co., 215 F. 527 (6th Cir.). The introduction of the registration constitutes prima facie evidence of continued use as well as ownership. Friedman v. Sealy, Incorporated, 274 F.2d 255 (10th Cir.). Also the combination of the trademark with another name does not of itself constitute abandonment. Lawyers Title Ins. Co. v. Lawyers Title Ins. Corp., 71 App.D.C. 120, 109 F.2d 35, is not contrary for the reason that in the cited case the court found plaintiff there had not maintained a distinctive identification in its separate name for the purpose of trade. There was no registered trademark involved in the Lawyers Title case, nor did defendant conduct any separate business whatever under the name in question or to which such name could apply. Here Heritage continued its separate business during the period when a joint name was used and also continued to use its separate name in some of its activities. The appellee argues that the change in form and the combination with Henredon constituted an abandonment of the trademark. We have held under such circumstances that the burden of proof is on the party asserting abandonment. Friedman v. Sealy, Incorporated, supra. The record shows no facts evidencing an intention to abandon the mark nor any facts from which such intent could be inferred. Such intention is an essential factor in finding an abandonment. Saxlehner v. Eisner & Mendelson Co., 179 U.S. 19, 21 S.Ct. 7, 45 L.Ed. 60.

The appellant put on evidence to show that the word “Heritage” through the promotion and advertising by appellant had obtained a secondary meaning, and there was no contrary evidence introduced.

From the above consideration we have concluded that the appellant has a valid trademark and the mark was not abandoned by its change in form or otherwise.

The question then remains whether or not there was an infringe[528]*528ment of the trademark by the adoption and use of the store name “Heritage House” by the appellee. There is no direct evidence in the record on the matter of confusion. The statutory test is whether the use is likely to cause confusion or to deceive as to the origin of the goods. 15 U.S.C. § 1114. The elements of infringement and the standards to be used have been treated at some length by this Court in Avrick v. Rock-mont Envelope Co., 155 F.2d 568, (10th Cir.); National Nu Grape Co. v. Guest, supra; Standard Oil Co. v. Standard Oil Co., 252 F.2d 65 (10th Cir.); Friedman v. Sealy, Incorporated, supra, and Beatrice Foods Co. v. Neosho Valley Coop. Creamery Ass’n, 297 F.2d 447 (10th Cir.). In the somewhat earlier case of Ph. Schneider Brewing Co. v.

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Bluebook (online)
312 F.2d 525, 136 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 25, 1962 U.S. App. LEXIS 3564, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/drexel-enterprises-inc-a-corporation-v-j-r-richardson-and-m-e-ca10-1962.