The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has denied the attempt by Mexican apparel and footwear brand Manufacturera de Botas Cuadra to register the trademark “Cuadra” for certain alcoholic beverages. The decision comes after the board ruled that the company failed to demonstrate a bona fide intent to use the mark for its intended alcoholic beverage purposes.
In a precedential ruling issued Thursday, a three-judge TTAB panel sided with Tequila Cuadra S de RL de CV, which opposed Manufacturera de Botas Cuadra’s bid to register “Cuadra” for non-beer alcoholic products and distilled Mexican spirits. The TTAB concluded that Tequila Cuadra successfully showed that the applicant did not present sufficient evidence of its intention to use the mark in commerce for alcoholic beverages.
Manufacturera de Botas Cuadra had pointed to its ownership of wineries and promotional tequila bottles branded with the “Cuadra” name, but the TTAB panel determined that these efforts were insufficient. The board found that the branded bottles appeared to be used as props in advertisements for the company’s apparel products rather than as a genuine step toward marketing alcoholic beverages. Furthermore, social media posts referencing the bottles did not show any concrete plans to market to U.S. consumers.
The TTAB highlighted that Manufacturera de Botas Cuadra had not taken any steps, such as obtaining regulatory approval, to produce a “Cuadra”-branded alcoholic beverage for sale in the U.S. Additionally, the labels for the alcoholic bottles contained Spanish-language text, which did not appear to target U.S. consumers.
Angel Miguel Munoz, counsel for Manufacturera de Botas Cuadra, expressed disagreement with the TTAB’s ruling. “We believe that our client has the capacity to produce alcoholic beverages under the ‘Cuadra’ mark, and the board’s decision placing weight on the production capacity being outside the U.S. warrants further consideration,” Munoz stated.
Brandon T. Cook, attorney for Tequila Cuadra, welcomed the decision, stating, “Despite the long delay, the applicant could not produce any evidence of its intent to use ‘Cuadra’ for alcoholic beverages in the U.S. market.”
The case was heard by Administrative Trademark Judges Angela Lykos, Christen M. English, and Lawrence T. Stanley Jr.
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