HOOTERS vs. BOO BEES
Posted April 02, 2006, in Clients, Clock Tower Law Group, Trademark Law, Worst Practices by @ErikJHeels (permalink: http://erikjheels.com/?p=535)
Are these trademarks likely to cause confusion?
One of my clients, BzzAgent (http://www.bzzagent.com/), has a bee logo for a trademark, and I monitor that trademark at the USPTO, alerting BzzAgent when any confusingly similar bee logos are filed or published.
On Friday, I found this trademark for BOO BEES (http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=76621016).
Compare this to the trademark for HOOTERS (http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=73464115).
Are these trademarks likely to cause confusion? Both are for restaurant services and both are (ahem) suggestive. Discuss.
[In the spirit of full disclosure, BzzAgent is/was a client of Clock Tower Law Group and is mentioned and/or linked in this article.]
Blog Update: Replacing Random Entries With Favorites
What do you care what other people think?
From my archives: HOOTERS vs. BOO BEES… http://is.gd/eIHU
[...] Funny trademarks abound. When you file a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), it is examined by Trademark Examiners (who are lawyers) and (if it passes their scrutiny) then it is published in the Trademark Official Gazette, a special publication read only by lawyers. OK, it's not just available to lawyers, but the data is not exactly user-friendly (PDF format, no feed, sheesh). And as a result, there is no meaningful public input to the trademark registration process. [...]
Trademark likelihood of confusion? HOOTERS vs. BOO BEES (for restaurants): http://is.gd/eIHU