## Facts

- Swiss and French cheese consortiums sought to register “GRUYERE” as a geographic certification mark for cheese originating in the Gruyère region of Switzerland and France.
- Several industry entities opposed the application, contending that “gruyere” is generic in the United States for a type of cheese.
- The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board found “GRUYERE” generic and refused registration.
- The consortiums pursued a civil action in the Eastern District of Virginia under 15 U.S.C. § 1071(b); the district court granted summary judgment for the opposers.
- The consortiums appealed to the Fourth Circuit, arguing that “GRUYERE” signifies geographic origin and that European-origin protections support registration.

## Issues

1. Whether “GRUYERE” is generic in the United States for a category of cheese, making it ineligible for registration as a geographic certification mark.
2. Whether the summary-judgment record permitted a reasonable factfinder to conclude that the primary significance of “GRUYERE” to U.S. consumers is geographic origin rather than product type.

## Decision

- The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s summary judgment for the opposers.
- The court held that “GRUYERE” is generic as a matter of law in the United States for a type of cheese.
- The court concluded the record showed U.S. consumers understand “gruyere” as a product category, not as an indicator limited to Swiss or French regional origin.
- The court rejected reliance on foreign PDO/PGI protections as controlling under U.S. trademark law and treated current U.S. consumer perception as the decisive inquiry.
- Because there was no genuine dispute of material fact on consumer understanding, summary judgment was proper.

## Legal Principles

- A certification mark may certify geographic origin, but it cannot be registered if the designation is generic for the relevant goods.
- Genericness turns on the “primary significance” of the term to relevant U.S. consumers—whether it denotes the product category or a source- or origin-related meaning.
- Evidence relevant to consumer understanding includes marketplace usage on labels, regulatory classifications, dictionary and reference definitions, and common trade and retail usage.
- Foreign geographic-indication regimes and protections may provide context but do not determine registrability under U.S. law when the term is generic in U.S. commerce.
- At summary judgment, if the record permits only one reasonable conclusion about consumer understanding, the court may decide genericness as a matter of law.

## Conclusion

The Fourth Circuit held that “GRUYERE” functions in the United States as the generic name of a cheese type rather than a geographic designation, so it cannot be registered as a geographic certification mark.


Interprofession du Gruyère v. U.S. Dairy Export Council, 61 F.4th 407 (4th Cir. 2023)