Aktieselskabet Af 21. November 2001 v. Fame Jeans Inc‪.‬

For some reason, a pair of jeans labeled Jack & Jones will sell for the equivalent of $96. Clearly there is magic in the name, and Fame Jeans tried to capture that magic by registering Jack & Jones as a trademark in the United States. Aktieselskabet (Bestseller), which generated the magic by selling Jack & Jones jeans elsewhere in the world, opposed Fames trademark application. After the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) granted summary judgment to Fame, Bestseller filed this action in district court, alleging several new grounds for its opposition. The district court dismissed Bestsellers complaint, holding the new grounds waived because Bestseller failed to present them to the TTAB and because Bestsellers complaint failed to meet a new pleading standard the court thought Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (2007), required. Bestseller appeals the dismissal. We hold the district court should hear new claims in a trademark opposition, and we disagree with the district courts interpretation of Twombly. Even so, some of Bestsellers claims are legally flawed. Accordingly, we affirm in part and reverse in part.