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Precedential No. 19: Family-of-Marks Argument Not Available to Overcome 2(d) Refusal; Sophisticated Purchaser Claim Fails Too

Confirming that an applicant?s ownership of a family of marks cannot overcome a Section 2(d) likelihood of confusion refusal, the Board upheld the PTO?s rejection of the mark CYNERGY for "medical lasers for the cosmetic and medical treatment of the face and skin, and vascular treatment, sold directly to licensed medical practitioners." Despite the sophistication of the relevant purchasers, the Board found the mark likely to cause confusion with the registered mark SYNERGIE PEEL for ?medical devices used for microdermabrasion? [PEEL disclaimed]. In re Cynosure, Inc., Serial No. 76653359 (May 8, 2009) [precedential].The marks: The Board had little difficulty in concluding that the marks are similar: they begin with words that are phonetic equivalents; the word SYNERGIE is the dominant portion of the cited mark; and both marks connote ?synergy...continue to full post

Full post as published by The TTABlog on May 19, 2009 (boomark / email).