Reckless Disregard for the Truth of a Material Statement Made to the USPTO Is Sufficient for Proving the Intent to Deceive

Discussion By the TTAB

"Fraud in procuring or maintaining a trademark registration occurs when an applicant for registration, or a registrant in a post registration setting, knowingly makes a false, material representation of fact in connection with an application to register, or a post registration document, with the intent of obtaining or maintaining a registration to which it is otherwise not entitled." Id. at *12 (citing In re Bose Corp., 580 F.3d 1240, 1245 (Fed. Cir. 2009); Torres v. Cantine Torresella S.r.l., 808 F.2d 46, 1 USPQ2d 1483, 1484 (Fed. Cir. 1986); Embarcadero Techs., Inc. v. Delphix Corp., 117 USPQ2d 1518 (TTAB 2016)). In deciding whether the registrant committed fraud on the USPTO in connection to the registration at issue, the TTAB applied the Federal Circuit's Bose standard (see, In re Bose Corp., 580 F.3d 1240 (Fed. Cir. 2009)) and easily found all of the elements supported a conclusion of fraud, except for the indispensable element in the Bose analysis — the subjective intent to deceive the USPTO when the false statement was made. Chutter, 2021 USPQ2d at *14-*16. As provided in Bose, the standard for finding subjective intent to deceive is stricter than the standards for finding negligence or gross negligence. Id. at *13. No clear and convincing evidence existed in this case to directly prove the subjective intent, but the TTAB determined that the facts in this case demonstrated more than gross negligence. Indeed, the TTAB determined that the conduct of the registrant's attorney on behalf of the registrant constituted, at a minimum, reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the statements made in the Section 15 Declaration to the USPTO. Id. at *19-20.