SieMatic Schweiz GmbH

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

Aug 14, 2009

No. 79033882 (T.T.A.B. Aug. 14, 2009)

Mailed: August 14, 2009
PTH

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
________

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
________

In re SieMatic Schweiz GmbH
________

Serial No. 79033882
_______

Daniel J. Bourque of Bourque & Associates, P.A. for
SieMatic Schweiz GmbH.

Laura A. Hammel, Trademark Examining Attorney, Law Office
116 (Michael W. Baird, Managing Attorney).
_______

Before Hairston, Bucher and Mermelstein, Administrative
Trademark Judges.

Opinion by Hairston, Administrative Trademark Judge:

SieMatic Schweiz GmbH has filed an application to
register the mark SIGMANN (in standard character form) for
the following goods:
sinks, lamps and lighting fixtures in
International Class 11;

printed matter, namely, brochures and catalogs
about kitchens, kitchen furniture and kitchen
furniture parts, kitchen cupboards, built-in
furniture for kitchens, tables, seats, benches,
cupboards, cabinets, shelves and room dividers;
envelopes, promotional and display cards
displaying kitchens, kitchen furniture and
THIS OPINION IS NOT A
PRECEDENT OF THE TTAB
Serial No. 79033882
2
kitchen furniture parts, kitchen cupboards,
built-in furniture for kitchens, tables, seats,
benches, cupboards, cabinets, shelves and room
dividers; stationery and calendars in
International Class 16; and

furniture and their parts, namely, kitchen
furniture, kitchen cupboards, built-in furniture
for kitchens; tables, seats, benches, cupboards,
cabinets, shelves, room dividers; furniture and
furniture parts featuring built-in lighting
fixtures sold as an integral component thereof in
International Class 20.1

Registration has been finally refused pursuant to
Section 2(e)(4) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1052(e)(4),
on the ground that the mark is primarily merely a surname.
Applicant has appealed; applicant and the trademark
examining attorney have filed briefs.
Whether a term is primarily merely a surname depends
on the primary significance of the term to the purchasing
public. In re Harris-Intertype Corp., 518 F.2d 629, 186
USPQ 238 (CCPA 1975); and In re Champion International
Corp., 229 USPQ 550 (TTAB 1985). The examining attorney
bears the burden of establishing a prima facie case in
support of the conclusion that the primary significance of
the term to the purchasing public would be that of a

1 Application Serial No. 79033882, filed on December 7, 2006
under the Madrid Protocol, Section 66(a) of the Trademark Act, 15
U.S.C. §1141(f), based on International Registration No. 0859674.
Serial No. 79033882
3
surname. In re BDH Two Inc., 26 USPQ2d 1556 (TTAB 1993)
and cases cited therein. If a prima facie case is
presented, then the burden of rebutting that showing shifts
to the applicant. In re Etablissements Darty et Fils, 759
F.2d 15, 225 USPQ 652 (Fed. Cir. 1985); and In re Harris-
Intertype Corp., 186 USPQ at 239.
“The question of whether a word sought to be
registered is primarily merely a surname within the meaning
of the statute can only be resolved on a case by case
basis,” taking into account various factual considerations.
Darty, 225 USPQ at 653. There are five accepted factors to
be considered in the analysis:
(1) Is the word a common or rarely used surname?
(2) Does anyone connected with the applicant have that
surname?
(3) Does the word have meaning other than as a
surname?
(4) Does the word look and sound like a surname?
(5) Is the word presented in use in a stylized form
distinctive enough to create a separate non-surname
significance?
In re Benthin Management GmbH, 37 USPQ2d 1332, 1333-34
(TTAB 1995).
Serial No. 79033882
4
Because applicant seeks to register SIGMANN in
standard character form, the fifth factor is not a factor
in this case and we consider the record in light of the
first four factors.2
We consider first the rareness of the surname. The
examining attorney submitted a listing of thirty-three
entries (at least five of which appear to be duplicates)
for persons with the surname Sigmann retrieved from the
Lexis/Nexis PFIND database. In addition, the examining
attorney submitted excerpts of news stories from the
Lexis/Nexis database which refer to five persons with the
surname Sigmann. With respect to these news stories, they
do not demonstrate that individuals having the surname
Sigmann have enjoyed broad exposure to the general public
such that Sigmann is well recognized as a surname. Compare
In re Gregory, 70 USPQ 2d 1792, 1795 (TTAB 2004)
[“[E]xistence of these [public officials] with the surname
ROGAN leads us to conclude that the name may be rare when
viewed in terms of frequency of use as a surname in the
general population, but not at all rare when viewed as a

2 We note that applicant sought to amend the drawing of its mark
to depict the mark in special form. The examining attorney
advised applicant that such an amendment was not permitted, and
applicant withdrew the proposed amended drawing.
Serial No. 79033882
5
name repeated in the media and in terms of public
perception.”]. Based on this evidence, we conclude that
Sigmann is an extremely rare surname in the United States.
Insofar as the second factor is concerned, i.e.,
whether any individual connected with applicant has the
surname in question, there is no evidence that anyone
associated with applicant has the surname Sigmann.
The third factor we consider is whether the term
SIGMANN has non-surname significance. The examining
attorney argues that SIGMANN has no meaning other than as a
surname and relies on a printout from the Encarta online
dictionary which shows the absence of any listing for the
term Sigmann. Applicant, however, maintains that SIGMANN
has non-surname significance because the term “mann” has
several meanings in German, including “husband,” “man,” and
“men.” Applicant’s argument is not persuasive because
there is no indication that the term “Sigmann,” as a whole,
has an understood meaning in German that can be translated
into English. Cf., In re Isabella Fiore LLC, 75 USPQ2d
1564, 1569 (TTAB 2005) [Board concluded that “there is no
question of whether the term [FIORE] would be recognized in
its current form as the Italian word for ‘flower.’”].
In short, there is no evidence that SIGMANN has non-surname
significance.
Serial No. 79033882
6
We turn, then, to the fourth and final factor to be
discussed, i.e., whether SIGMANN has the look and feel of a
surname. This determination is somewhat subjective. The
examining attorney maintains that SIGMANN has the look and
feel of a surname because it is highly similar to the
surname Sigman. The examining attorney’s evidence shows
that, at best, the surname Sigman is slightly more
recognizable than the surname Sigmann. However, this
evidence does not persuade us that SIGMANN has the clear
look and feel of a surname.
When we view the term SIGMANN under the surname
factors set out above, we conclude that the examining
attorney has not met her initial burden of showing that the
term SIGMANN would primarily be viewed as a surname.
Furthermore, to the extent that there is any doubt
about whether the examining attorney has established a
prima facie case in support of the refusal, we must resolve
such doubt in favor of applicant and publish the mark for
opposition. See In re Benthin Management GmbH, 37 USPQ2d
at 1334.
Decision: The refusal to register under Section
2(e)(4) is reversed.