Williams Oil-O-Matic Heating Corporation v. Butler Co.

39 F.2d 693, 17 C.C.P.A. 934, 1930 CCPA LEXIS 228
CourtCourt of Customs and Patent Appeals
DecidedApril 10, 1930
DocketPatent Appeal 2296
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 39 F.2d 693 (Williams Oil-O-Matic Heating Corporation v. Butler Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Customs and Patent Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams Oil-O-Matic Heating Corporation v. Butler Co., 39 F.2d 693, 17 C.C.P.A. 934, 1930 CCPA LEXIS 228 (ccpa 1930).

Opinion

HATFIELD, Associate Judge.

This is an appeal, in a trade-mark cancellation proceeding, from the decision of the Commisssioner of Patents affirming the decision of the Examiner of Interferences dismissing appellant’s application for the cancellation of the registration of appellee’s trade-mark “Oilomatic” for use on windmills.

Appellant alleges in its application that it has used the word “Oil-O-Matic” as a trade-mark for liquid fuel-burning devices (oil burners) and safety-control means therefor, since August, 1921; that appellee’s trade-mark registration No. 219,976, “set up a date of adoption and use as of January 21, 1923”; that appellant’s trade-mark was registered for use on its products on June 16, 1925, No. 199,644, and on December 28,1926, No. 222,211; that the word “Oil-O-Matic” is “the salient feature” of appellant’s corporate name; that it originated the word “Oil-O-Matic”; that, due to the expenditure of considerable money in advertising, its goods and trade-mark have become associated in the mind of the public; that the use by appellee of the same mark on windmills would lead the public to believe that appellee’s product was manufactured by appellant, or that the products of the parties had the same origin; that the registration of the word “Oilomatic” to “any other manufacturer of mechanical devices will destroy your petitioner’s identity * * * will limit its expansion into manufacturing other mechanical devices, and will destroy its monopoly in its trade-mark which it coined and which, by its use and advertising, has established a high reputation for articles which bear it”; and that appellant deems itself injured by *694 the registration of the word “Oilomatie” to appellee.

In its answer, appellee alleges that the issues presented by appellant’s application for cancellation were adjudicated in “Opposition No. 6440, Williams Oil-O-Matic Heating Corporation v. The Butler Company, July 12, 1926”; that its registration of the word “Oilomatie” for use on windmills cannot cause any injury or damage to appellant; and that the goods of the parties do not possess the same descriptive properties.

It appears from the record that on June 10, 1925, appellant filed a notice of opposition to the registration by appellee of the mark in question. It was alleged therein that, the registration of the mark to appellee would cause confusion in the trade; that it would limit the right of appellant (opposer) to extend the use of its mark in connection with the expansion and extension of its business; that appellant had extensively advertised its mark; that it was extensively engaged in the manufacture and sale of fuel-burning devices and safety-control means therefor; that it had continuously used its mark “Oil-O-Matie” on its product for several years before the adoption and use by appellee of the mark “Oilomatie” on windmills; and that the registration of appellee’s mark would cause great damage and injury to appellant.

Appellant did not allege in its notice of opposition that the word “Oil-O-Matic” was “the salient feature” of its corporate name, and that, for that reason, it would be injured by the registration of the word “Oilomatie” by appellee.

Appellee filed a motion to dismiss the notice of opposition.

On October 10, 1925, the Examiner of Interferences denied the motion to dismiss the opposition, and in his decision, among other things, said: “The opposer stated in its brief and has urged orally at the hearing on the motion to dismiss that registration of the applicant’s mark should be refused because it constitutes an essential feature of the opposer’s corporate name. It is stated by the opposer that copies of its articles of incorporation have been on file in the Patent Office since filing of the notice of opposition. This request is deemed to be in effect a request for ex parte consideration, a fune.tion which the examiner of interferences is reluctant to assume, except by the direction of the Commissioner.”

Thereupon, appellee, on October 19, 1925, filed an answer to the notice of opposition. We deem it unnecessary to set out here the allegations contained in the answer.

The record contains a decision of the Commissioner of Patents rendered on January 30, 1926, in which appears the following:

“This ease comes up on a petition filed Oct. 16, 1925, by the opposer, asking the exercise of supervisory authority to suspend the opposition proceedings and return the application to the jurisdiction of the examiner of trade marks for ex parte rejection on the opposer’s corporate name.
“The case has been' referred to the examiner of trade marks for a report. His report, under date of Jan. 4, 1926, reads as follows:
“In response to the petition by Williams Oil-O-Matie Heating Corp., in Opposition No. 6440, allow me to state that, had my attention been drawn to the articles of incorporation referred -to, the application of The Butler Company would at that time have been refused registration in view of said articles. However, in view of the ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Simplex Electric Heating Company v. Robertson, Commissioner of Patents, handed down this day, such practice should not be followed.
“Since the examiner of trade marks in making his report must have considered the question of similarity of goods, and the examiner of interferences in his decision of October 10, 1925, must have considered the same question, there appears to be a conflict in the opinions of these two tribunals.
“The case is therefore returned to the examiner of interferences for reconsideration of his decision, or such other action as he deems proper.
“The petition is denied.”

Thereupon, the Examiner of Interferences again considered appellee’s motion of July 30, 1925, to dismiss the opposition, and on February 27, 1926, the motion was sustained.

On appeal to the Commissioner of Patents, the decision of the Examiner of Interferences was affirmed and the notice of opposition dismissed.

The commissioner held that the goods of the parties did not possess the same descriptive properties; that the use of the mark “Oilomatie” by appellee on windmills would not interfere with the use of the same mark by appellant on oil burners; and that the registration of appellee’s mark would' not *695 cause confusion in the mind of the public. In concluding his decision, the commissioner said: “The opposer’s corporate name was not pleaded in opposition to the applicant’s right to the registration of the mark in issue and was not considered by the acting examiner of interferences in his decision. This constitutes a new ground of opposition, and is not properly before me for decision. Albert Dickinson Co. v. Conklin, 126 O. G. 3422; In re Battle Creek Sanitarium Company, Limited, 128 O. G. 2837; Hannis Distilling Company v. George W. Torry Company, 141 O. G. 569; National Water Company v. The Akron Brewing Company, 197 O. G. 999,”

As appellant took no appeal, the decision of the commissioner became final. This was the state of the record when the issues in the cancellation proceeding came on for hearing before the Examiner of Interferences.

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Bluebook (online)
39 F.2d 693, 17 C.C.P.A. 934, 1930 CCPA LEXIS 228, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-oil-o-matic-heating-corporation-v-butler-co-ccpa-1930.