Tangled In Standing: Who Gets To Challenge A Trademark?

Rebecca Curtin filed an opposition to United Trademark Holdings’ attempt to register RAPUNZEL for dolls and toy figures in International Class 28 under 15 U.S.C. § 1063—the provision that, at least textually, invites “any person who believes that he would be damaged” by registration of a mark to oppose it.

Curtin took that invitation seriously. She argued that “Rapunzel” is not a brand name so much as a cultural inheritance: the name of a well-known fairytale character whose story is deeply embedded in the public domain. She claimed that the mark is not distinctive at all, but instead highly descriptive—if not outright generic—and merely informational under § 1052(e)(1). She concluded that UTH was attempting to snatch the name Rapunzel out of the public domain, which would prevent others from referring to their Rapunzel dolls, characters and toy figures by their true name — Rapunzel.