IP Law Daily, TRADEMARK—TTAB: SUNRISE DETOX was confusingly similar to SUNRISE DISCOVERY RANCH for similar services, (Jul 22, 2016)

By Mark Engstrom, J.D.

A trademark examining attorney did not err in refusing to register the standard character mark SUNRISE DETOX, with "Detox" disclaimed, for addiction treatment and similar patient-care services, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board has ruled. Because the applied-for mark was confusingly similar to the registered mark SUNRISE RECOVERY RANCH for addiction treatment services, with "Recovery Ranch" disclaimed, the refusal to register was affirmed (In re Bald Eagle Health Group, LLC, July 20, 2016, Cataldo, P.).

The Board conducted a likelihood of confusion analysis that focused on: (1) the similarity of the relevant goods and services; (2) the similarity of the trade channels and purchaser classes; (3) the similarity of the marks; (4) the sophistication of consumer purchasers; and (5) actual confusion.

According to the Board, the relevant services—the "addiction treatment" services of the applicant and registrant—were legally identical, in part. Because they were identical, the Board presumed that the trade channels and purchaser classes were similar.

In addition, the first word of the registrant’s mark—SUNRISE—was identical in appearance and sound to the first word of the applicant’s mark, and the relative significance of that word was reinforced, in both marks, by its appearance as the beginning of the marks.

In addition, the word SUNRISE was followed by the words DETOX (in the applicant’s mark) and RECOVERY RANCH (in the registrant’s mark)—words that were "at best" descriptive of the identified services. For those reasons, the word SUNRISE—the dominant portion of both marks—was identical.

Ultimately, the marks were similar in appearance and sound, and they conveyed a similar connotation and overall commercial impression, according to the Board.

Finally, the sophistication of the relevant consumers and the lack of actual confusion were both neutral factors.

In light of those findings, the Board concluded that the applicant’s mark was likely to cause confusion with the registered mark when the marks were used with addiction treatment services.

The case is Serial No. 86393524.

Attorneys: Brian M. Taillon (McHale & Slavin PA) for Bald Eagle Health Group, LLC. Odessa Bibbins, Trademark Examining Attorney.

Companies: Bald Eagle Health Group, LLC

Cases: Trademark USPTO