HE’BREW beer

Here is an article about the founder of Shmaltz Brewing Company, "America’s first and only Jewish-owned kosher-certified microbrew."  The brand name of the beer is HE’BREW, and the federal trademark registration application is here.  The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has issued an Office Action refusing registration, alleging that the mark is confusingly similar to HI BRAU beer.  No response to the Office Action has been filed yet.

Default judgment in one Opposition does not act as res judicata in Opposition for co-pending application

ThinkSharp, Inc. filed two trademark applications:  one for the mark THINKSHARP plus design and the other for the word mark THINKSHARP.  Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Sharp) opposed both applications alleging the marks are confusingly similar to its family of SHARP marks.

ThinkSharp abandoned the design mark without Sharp’s consent and defended the word mark.  Sharp argued that under res judicata, the earlier default judgment barred ThinkSharp from continuing to contest the opposition to the word mark.  The TTAB disagreed and held that ThinkSharp was entitled to abandon one application and to pursue the other. 

On appeal, the Federal Circuit affirmed the TTAB decision and held that ThinkSharp’s choice to contest only the word mark Opposition was not barred by the default judgment in the design mark opposition.