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Dog eat Dog
patentandtrademark
subscriber Posts: 103
"THE BLACK DOG" trademark succeeds in opposing registration of "YELLOW DOG NANTUCKET" trademark for Clothing.
The TTAB [Trademark Trial and Appeal Board] found that the YELLOW DOG NANTUCKET trademark was likely to cause confusion with "THE BLACK DOG" trademark. The Board noted that the goods being sold were identical or closely related, and the channels of trade (brick-and-mortar and online stores) identical. The T-shirts are items purchased with "ordinary care, at best."
Click here to see the two different dog trademarks:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ef_M4U2nwus/S ... o+dogs.jpg
The Board found that "the accumulated points of similarities in appearance and commercial impression" were "quite remarkable, including the general size and style of fonts employed in the wording positioned between the respective standing dog images."
They concluded that, "the confusing similarity of the marks is a factor that strongly favors a finding of likelihood of confusion…."
Finally, the Board implied they thought the “YELLOW DOG NANTUCKET” was trying to get a free ride from "THE BLACK DOG" trademark:
“… In light of the renown of opposer’s [THE BLACK DOG] marks, applicant’s professed interests in images of dogs, his years of formal education and professed business acumen, and his having lived in Nantucket for one or more high-tourist seasons, we find that his claimed ignorance of opposer’s [THE BLACK DOG] well-known enterprise and branding success prior to adopting his marks and filing the involved applications strains credulity. As a newcomer, under this set of circumstances, applicant had a duty to select a mark that would not give rise to a likelihood of confusion.”
The TTAB [Trademark Trial and Appeal Board] found that the YELLOW DOG NANTUCKET trademark was likely to cause confusion with "THE BLACK DOG" trademark. The Board noted that the goods being sold were identical or closely related, and the channels of trade (brick-and-mortar and online stores) identical. The T-shirts are items purchased with "ordinary care, at best."
Click here to see the two different dog trademarks:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ef_M4U2nwus/S ... o+dogs.jpg
The Board found that "the accumulated points of similarities in appearance and commercial impression" were "quite remarkable, including the general size and style of fonts employed in the wording positioned between the respective standing dog images."
They concluded that, "the confusing similarity of the marks is a factor that strongly favors a finding of likelihood of confusion…."
Finally, the Board implied they thought the “YELLOW DOG NANTUCKET” was trying to get a free ride from "THE BLACK DOG" trademark:
“… In light of the renown of opposer’s [THE BLACK DOG] marks, applicant’s professed interests in images of dogs, his years of formal education and professed business acumen, and his having lived in Nantucket for one or more high-tourist seasons, we find that his claimed ignorance of opposer’s [THE BLACK DOG] well-known enterprise and branding success prior to adopting his marks and filing the involved applications strains credulity. As a newcomer, under this set of circumstances, applicant had a duty to select a mark that would not give rise to a likelihood of confusion.”
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