"Fashion company Vetements Group AG filed a petition for a writ of certiorari that was docketed on August 19 asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) decision that upheld the rejection of its trademark applications for the non-English mark VETEMENTS under the doctrine of foreign equivalents. According to the petition, the case presents fundamental questions about whether foreign-language marks should be evaluated based on consumer perception or English translation."
"The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rejected the trademark applications under Section 1052(e), citing the doctrine of foreign equivalents. On April 21, 2023, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) affirmed the refusal. The Federal Circuit upheld the TTAB's decision in a precedential opinion issued May 21, 2025, remarking that the "mark 'VETEMENTS' for clothing items is generic and merely descriptive without acquired distinctiveness under the doctrine of foreign equivalents.""
Vetements Group AG sought U.S. trademark registration for VETEMENTS, meaning "clothes" in French, for clothing and online retail store services in both standard and stylized forms. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected the applications under Section 1052(e) based on the doctrine of foreign equivalents, and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board affirmed that refusal on April 21, 2023. The Federal Circuit issued a precedential opinion on May 21, 2025, upholding the TTAB and finding the mark generic and merely descriptive without acquired distinctiveness. The case raises whether non-English marks should be evaluated by consumer perception or by English translation, and what test should determine genericness or descriptiveness.
Read at IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law
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