Comparing a trademark dispute over the generic nature of the word “Gruyere” to a “fine cheese …  matured … ripe” and ready for review, a U.S. circuit judge sided with American cheese makers against claims filed by competing European manufacturers Friday morning.  

“The consortiums cannot overcome what the record makes clear: cheese consumers in the United States understand ‘Gruyere’ to refer to a type of cheese, which renders the term generic,” wrote Chief Judge Roger Gregory of the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Fourth Circuit for the unanimous three-member panel.