Transliterations Versus Translations
Where a word is a foreign transliteration of an English mark, the TTAB has held that there is nothing to translate, and the doctrine of foreign equivalents is not invoked. In Green Spot (Thailand) Ltd. v. Vitasoy Int'l Holdings Ltd., the TTAB considered the application of the doctrine where Green Spot sought to register "Vitamilk", and was opposed by Vitasoy, which was the owner of a senior registration. Green Spot also owned a mark in Chinese characters for which the first sets of characters were transliterations of "vi" and "ta" with no meaning in Chinese, while the third, 奶 (nai) was the Chinese word for "milk". Green Spot argued that its senior Chinese character mark was the equivalent of Vitamilk, and that Green Spot's ownership of the senior mark gave it the right to own the equivalent English mark. The TTAB refused to apply the doctrine of foreign equivalents, because the transliterations of "vi" and "ta" had no actual translation from Chinese to English.
Read more about this topic: Doctrine Of Foreign Equivalents
Famous quotes containing the word translations:
“Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!”
—Bible: New Testament, Matthew 18:7.
Other translations use “temptations.”