Family Circle, Inc. v. Family Circle Associates, Inc.

205 F. Supp. 940, 133 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 643, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5645
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedJune 7, 1962
DocketCiv. No. 985-61
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 205 F. Supp. 940 (Family Circle, Inc. v. Family Circle Associates, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Family Circle, Inc. v. Family Circle Associates, Inc., 205 F. Supp. 940, 133 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 643, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5645 (D.N.J. 1962).

Opinion

LANE, District Judge.

Plaintiff, charging defendants with infringement of its trade-mark, “Family Circle,” seeks to enjoin defendants from the use thereof. Defendants counterclaim, demanding cancellation of plaintiff’s registration, No. 617,878, which covers the trade-mark, “Family Circle.” The nub of defendants’ contention is that when plaintiff submitted the affidavit showing the words “Everywoman’s Family Circle,” it falsely purported to [941]*941demonstrate use of the mark, “Family Circle.” To quote allegation 9 of defendants’ counterclaim: “The affidavit was false, untrue, and misleading and * * * was relied upon by the Commissioner of Patents.”

Plaintiff has moved under F.R.Civ.P. 12(b), 28 U.S.C.A., for dismissal of defendants’ counterclaim on the ground it fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Since the parties had gone beyond the scope of the pleadings in their arguments by referring to affidavits and questions of fact, the court decided to conduct a separate hearing on the counterclaim. Disposition of the counterclaim may prove an important factor in rendering an adjudication of the complaint.

It is established that on October 29, 1940, the assignor of plaintiff registered the trade-mark, “Everywoman’s” (Registration No. 382,401) for a monthly magazine ; on December 20, 1955, a predecessor in title to plaintiff registered the trade-mark “Family Circle” (Registration No. 617,878) for a monthly magazine; on or about April 16, 1958, plaintiff acquired title to the “Family Circle” trade-mark by a merger between “Every-woman’s” magazine and “Family Circle” magazine; in May of 1958, “Family Circle” magazine ceased to be published and the first edition of “Everywoman’s Family Circle” was published in June of 1958; on April 7, 1959, the trademark “Everywoman’s Family Circle” (Registration No. 676,725) was issued to plaintiff.

On December 27, 1960, plaintiff timely filed an affidavit pursuant to 15 U.S.C.A. § 1058(a) and 15 U.S.C.A. § 1065, asserting that it was using the trademark “Family Circle.” The germane parts of the statute proclaim:

(1) A registrant during the sixth year after registration shall file an affidavit attesting to continued use or excusing non-use; otherwise, the registration shall be canceled by the Commission of Patents.

(2) A registrant may acquire incontestable rights in a registered mark if, in the sixth year after registration, he files an affidavit that the mark has been continuously used for the preceding five consecutive years and is still in use.

The principal trade-mark utilizes the designation “Family Circle.” The registered affidavit, containing a specimen of a trade-mark reading “Everywoman’s Family Circle,” states that the trademark “Family Circle” is in use as evidenced by such specimen. It must be noted that the words “Family Circle” appear prominently on the affidavit and on attached sample editions of plaintiff’s . magazine; the word “Everywoman’s” appears in much smaller type within the upper crossbar of the “F” initial letter of “Family.” The Commissioner of Patents accepted the affidavit on the conclusion, we must presume, that the specimen properly supported continued use of the registration mark, “Family Circle.”

It is plaintiff’s position that this court lacks the requisite jurisdiction to consider cancellation of trade-mark registration No. 617,878. In support thereof it cites 15 U.S.C.A. § 1064(a):

“Any person who believes that he is or will be damaged by the registration of a mark on the principal register established by this * * * Act * * * may * * * apply to cancel said registration — (a) within 5 years from the date of registration of the mark under this Act; * *

But, 15 U.S.C.A. § 1119 empowers this court to “* * * order the cancelation of registrations, in whole or in part * * * and otherwise rectify the register with respect to the registrations of any party to the action.” In addition, 15 U.S.C.A. § 1064(c) indicates:

“Any person who believes that he is or will be damaged by the registration of a mark on the principal register established by this * * * Act * * * may * * * apply to cancel said registration — * * * (c) at any time if * * * its registration was obtained fraudulently * * * f*

[942]*942In Daphne Robert’s Commentary on The Lanham Trade-Mark Act, it is stated that The Lanham Trade-Mark Act has greatly expanded the jurisdiction of the federal courts in their ability to entertain litigation in the field of trademarks. See 15 U.S.C.A. § 1051, at pp. 265, 280-281. The article evinces the opinion:

“With regard to trade-marks, service marks and collective marks on the principal register, a petition to cancel will not be entertained more than five years after issuance of the registration unless one of the following grounds appears on the face of the petition:
“1. The registration is defective because it consists of or comprises prohibited matter;
“2. The registration was obtained through fraud;
“3. Use of the registered mark has been discontinued (non-wse of a mark for two consecutive years may be accepted as prima facie evidence of abandonment of the mark);
“4. The registered mark is being used by an assignee to misrepresent source; or
“5. The registered mark, because of a registrant’s affirmative improper uses of his own or failure to take action to stop improper uses by others, has lost its significance as an indication of origin — another way of saying the mark has lost its distinctiveness as a result of acts of omission or commission of the registrant.” [Emphasis added.]

Defendants’ counterclaim rests in part on the theory that the use of the registered mark was abandoned. In addition, defendants have pleaded that plaintiff employed a fraudulent affidavit. It is our ruling that we have jurisdiction to determine the merits of the counterclaim.

The issue presented is whether an affidavit utilizing the specimen “Every-woman’s Family Circle,” wherein the word “Everywoman’s” appears in smaller letters on top of the prominently displayed words “Family Circle,” illustrates continued use of the registered trademark “Family Circle.” We are not concerned with the requisites for an original application, but rather with the standards pertaining to an affidavit attesting to continued use.

An acknowledged expert in the field of trademarks, who formerly served as Assistant Commissioner of Patents of the United States in charge of trade-mark law, testified:

“ * * * [that the requirements for affidavits] have never been so tight as they are on an original application. * * * Possibly the reason is — and this would be merely surmise on my part — that when, in this kind of situation where there has been a merger or where there has been a combining of marks after the original registrations have issued, there has through usage grown a consciousness in the purchasers’ minds of these marks separately, and the desire is to give the registrants the benefit of the doubt, to preserve such goodwill as may attach to the marks separately, and perhaps to prevent others from coming along and using it by itself.”

When the court asked the expert witness to give an opinion as to the truth or falsity of the affidavit in question under the circumstances here, she testified:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
205 F. Supp. 940, 133 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 643, 1962 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5645, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/family-circle-inc-v-family-circle-associates-inc-njd-1962.