QUIKTRIP WEST, INC. v. WEIGEL STORES, INC.

On January 7, 2021, the Federal Circuit affirmed the TTAB’s decision dismissing Quick Trips opposition to Weigel’s registration of the design mark “W WEIGEL’S KITCHEN NOW OPEN”, finding there was no likelihood that consumers would confuse Weigel’s mark with QuikTrip’s registered design mark “QT KITCHENS”. QuikTrip argued that the TTAB improperly afforded the common term “KITCHEN(S)” less weight with respect to the remaining features that differed between the marks. The Federal Circuit was not persuaded by Quicktrip’s argument, ruling that the TTAB did not improperly accord less weight to the shared term KITCHEN(S) because “kitchen” is a “highly suggestive, if not descriptive” word. See In re Nat’l Data Corp., 753 F.2d at 1058–59 (“That a particular feature is descriptive or generic with respect to the involved goods or services is one commonly accepted rationale for giving less weight to a portion of a mark . . . .”). Further, ample evidence from third-party use supports the finding that “KITCHEN(S)” is descriptive, as the term is commonly used to describe sale of food and food-related services, which was the business of both parties.