Applicant Jerzy Makarczyk, appearing pro se, applied to register the mark CHANEL for "real estate development and construction of commercial, residential and hotel property." Chanel, Inc. opposed on the grounds of likelihood of confusion, false suggestion of a connection (Section 2(a)), and dilution, relying on a number of registrations for the mark CHANEL for cosmetics, toiletries, etc.
In addition to streamlining the procedure, the parties stipulated to a number of facts, mostly basic, but including this one: "Applicant uses in connection with his real estate development and construction of commercial, residential and hotel property services not only the CHANEL mark but also the marks HERMES and PLAYBOY among others." Apparently, Opposer will attempt to parlay that fact into some kind of "bad faith" claim against Applicant.
The Board approved the stipulation, set a briefing schedule, and stated that it would "endeavor to issue a decision on the merits within 50 days of the due date for opposers' rebuttal brief (i.e., before December 17, 2013). [The proceeding was commenced on December 7, 2012].
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TTABlog comment: Well, what do you think? Is it worth giving up discovery to get a "quicker" decision? It would certainly help keep the costs down, but I personally think that a party should take some discovery - at least paper discovery - before deciding whether to opt for ACR.
Text Copyright John L. Welch 2013.
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