Yamaha International Corporation v. Hoshino Gakki Co., Ltd., Assignee of Hoshino Gakki Ten Inc.

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• explaining that the “exact kind and amount of evidence” needed to show distinctiveness “necessarily depends on the circum- stances of the particular case” (citations omitted)
• noting that “absence of consumer surveys need not preclude a finding of acquired distinctiveness”
• finding secondary meaning for shape of guitar head always appearing in advertising and promotional literature
• noting that the United States Patent and Trademark Office Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s finding that a particular design had acquired secondary meaning was not “clearly erroneous” even though no consumer survey evidence had been presented
• evidence required to show acquired 14 Opposition Nos. 91161403 et al. distinctiveness is directly proportional to the degree of non-distinctiveness of the mark at issue
• evidence required to show acquired 14 Opposition Nos. 91161403 et al. distinctiveness is directly proportional to the degree of non-distinctiveness of the mark at issue

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).