The Board’s Fifth Precedential Case of 2024 Suggestive marks with some conceptual weakness are still afforded a relatively broad scope of protection. See Sage Therapeutics, Inc. v. SageForth Psychological Services, LLC, Opposition No. 91270181 (April 12, 2024) [precedential], where the Board sustained an opposition based on priority and likelihood of…
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB” or “Board”) reversed the Examining Attorney’s refusal for likelihood of confusion based on identical trademarks, RAO’S for wine and restaurant services. See In re 1729 Investments LLC, Serial No. 90694523 (April 24, 2023) [not precedential]. This is not the first time, the Board…
A recent precedential case from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“TTAB” or the “Board”) highlights the problems associated with adopting weak marks. See Shenzhen IVPS Technology Co. Ltd. V. Fancy Pants Products, LLC, 2022 USPQ2d 1035 (TTAB 2022) [precedential], where the Board dismissed an opposition under Section 2(d) of…
Recent Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) Decisions continue to reinforce the importance of good evidence demonstrating similar trademarks in use to weigh against finding a likelihood of confusion. See In re Loew’s Hotels, Inc., Serial Nos. 88425357, 88433338, 88433342, and 88433348 (May 11, 2022) [not precedential], where two refusals…
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”) issued a precedential decision last week that will be helpful to applicants submitting either a Consent Agreement or a Coexistence Agreement to overcome a likelihood of confusion refusal. Dare Foods Inc. filed an application to register the proposed mark RAINCOAST DIP in…
In a recent reversal by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board” or the “TTAB”), In re Just a Pinch Recipe Club, LLC, Serial No. 88463841 (April 15, 2021) [not precedential], it becomes evident that just because two trademarks share terms, this may not be enough to find a…
Since about 90 percent or more of 2(d) cases appealed are affirmed by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board”), it is unlikely that the Board disagrees with the Examining Attorney’s conclusions. However, the Board did not see eye to eye with the Examining Attorney on this recently decided…
The case I am blogging about today, illustrates why federal registration is so important and how failing to register a mark can have devastating effects for your business. See Jean Leon, S.L. v. La Scala Restaurants, Corp., Opposition No. 91241804 (July 22, 2020) [not precedential], where an opposition was sustained…
In a recent Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board” or “TTAB”) decision a refusal is reversed based on the second DuPont factor. On the last day of December 2019, the Board issued a decision stating that the “related services doctrine (services provided in connection with the same goods) has…
In a recent case decided in November 2019, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the “Board” or the “TTAB”) sustained an opposition filed by Baccarat S.A. on various grounds including likelihood of confusion. The applicant was seeking to register the mark BACCARAT in standard characters for alcoholic beverages, namely vodka.…