Look-Alike and Sound-Alike Trademarks

Let’s say, you come up with a brand, you do the search, and you see that someone else had already come up with this idea. Not only they came up with that idea, they also trademarked that. And the question is, if you changed your mark just a little bit, maybe added some misspelling or maybe just added something around that, which would make your trademark a little bit different, would that allow you to register your trademark?

And the answer to that is usually, no. So sound-alike trademarks or look-alike trademarks are typically just as confusingly similar as the identical marks.

Because here is the thing, the trademarks examiner, when they get two trademarks applications, the standard is not for them to compare the two side by side. The standard to them is think of what would a person who once saw the first trademark— they’re not necessary their customer, they’re not necessarily buying that, they just saw that briefly, maybe in a store or on a website—so the question that the trademark examiner is asking themselves is, would that person think, when they saw your trademark, your misspelled, your look-alike, your sound-alike trademark, would they think that your product or service is actually coming from the same source as that other product or service that they saw a while ago.

And if their answer to that is yes, the trademark examiner will come to the conclusion that the two trademarks are confusingly similar. And it is not exact, it is more art than science, but the general rule is, they compare trademarks not only in terms of, are they identical? They compare trademarks as to, do they look similar, do they sound similar, do they mean the same thing? And if the answer to that is yes, then it’s very likely that the objections will be raised against your trademark, and those objections will be very difficult to overcome.

So, don’t fall under the impression that all you have to do is just add a few misspelled letters or maybe drop a few vowels, and you will be able to get away with this. Usually, you won’t.

• Does My Trademark Need to Match My Company Name? ()
• What Is a Trademark? ()
• Can I Add More Products and Services to My Trademark Application After It Has Been Filed? ()
• Where Should I Register My Trademarks? (Deciding on Jurisdictions in Which to File Trademarks) ()
• What Is Conventional Priority? ()
• Can I Change the Trademark Itself After My Trademark Application has been Filed? ()
• How Long Does It Take to Register a Trademark? ()
• Can I Trademark Dictionary Words? ()
• Can I Trademark the Same Brand for Different Products or Services? ()
• Do All Countries Protect Unregistered Trademarks? (Common-Law Trademarks) ()
• Can I Trademark a Brand Before It Is Launched? (Intent-to-Use Trademarks) ()
• Is My Trademark Available? ()
• Should I Trademark My Startup's Brand? ()
• In Whose Name Should I Apply For My Trademark? ()
• Will the Trademarks Office Help Me Enforce My Trademarks? ()
• Should I Trademark a Logo Done On Fiverr? ()
• How Much Does It Cost to Register a Trademark? ()
• Should I Trademark My #Hashtags? ()
• Are There Annual Trademark Maintenance Fees? ()
• If I Register My Trademark, Does It Mean No One Can Use It? ()
• Four Things Most Commonly Trademarked (The Trademark Dance) ()
• How Does Trademark Factory's Guarantee Work? ()
• What Are Nice Classes of Goods and Services ()
• Do I Have to Be an American Resident to File in the U.S.? ()
• How Are Service Marks Different From Trademarks? ()
• What Are Oppositions? ()
• 3 Most Important Benefits of Registering Trademarks ()
• Why Register a Trademark in Canada to Get a .CA Domain Name? ()
• What is Post-Allowance Statement / Declaration of Use? ()
• Am I Protected Between the Filing and the Registration of My Trademark? ()
• What Is Post-Registration Statement of Use? ()
• How to Use Trademarks to Create a Sense of Uniqueness for Your Business? ()
• What Goes Into a Trademark Application? ()
• What Happens If You Don't Respond to Correspondence from Trademarks Office in Time? ()
• What Makes a Brand Valuable? ()
• Is Registering a .COM Domain Name Enough to Secure Trademark Rights? ()
• Why Is It Important to Preserve Evidence of Use of My Trademarks? ()
• Do I Need an Agreement with My Logo Designer? ()
• Andrei Mincov's story ()
• What is Madrid Protocol? ()
• Trademark Factory Ultimate package ()
• What Are Official Marks in Canada? ()
• Trademark Factory I Feel Lucky package ()
• How Will a Trademark Examiner Examine My Trademark Application? ()
• Can You Trademark Book Titles? ()
• Trademark Factory All-Inclusive package ()
• Trademarks vs. Trade Names ()
• Will the Trademark Examiner Check Other Applied For Trademarks? ()
• Trademarking Words in a Fancy Font? ()
• Will the Trademark Examiner Check Unregistered Trademarks? ()
• You Received an Office Action. Now What? ()
• How Long Is a Trademark Registration Good For? ()
• When Should I Trademark My Brand? ()
• Why is Google the Textbook Example of What Not to Do with Your Trademark? ()
• Should I Claim Color as a Feature of My Trademark ? ()
• What Is the Difference Between Trademarks and Patents? ()
• How Should I List Products and Services in My Trademark Application? ()
• What Is the Difference Between Trademarks and Copyright? ()
• When Should I Trademark My Logo? ()
• What Are the Two Main Reasons My Trademark Application Can Be Rejected? ()
• What Is the Trademarking Process? ()
• Can I Mention Someone Else's Trademark on My Website? ()
• What Is An Acceptable Specimen of Use? ()
• What Are Generic, Descriptive, Suggestive, Arbitrary, and Fanciful Trademarks? ()
• What Is UDRP Uniform Domain Name Resolution Policy? ()
• How Do I Trademark Product Names? ()
• When Am I Allowed to Put TM Next To My Brand? ()
• How Do I Trademark Service Names? ()
• What Are Word Marks, Design Marks, and Combined Marks? ()
• What Should I Know About Trademarking Slogans and Taglines? ()
• Should I Trademark My Name Or My Logo ()
• Adding Elements to My Trademark to Overcome Confusion or Descriptiveness ()
• Are Famous Trademarks Treated Differently From Regular Trademarks ()
• Received an Invoice For International Publication of Trademark ()
• What Should I Do If Somebody Infringes on My Trademark ()
• Do Trademarks Protect Their Foreign Equivalents ()
• What Should I Do If Somebody Accuses Me of Infringing Their Trademark? ()
• Asian Domain Name Scam ()
• What Are Two Biggest Branding Mistakes? ()
• Are Dead Trademarks a Problem? ()
• What Is The Difference Between a TM and an R in a Circle Symbols ()
• What Does Using a Trademark Mean? ()
• How Do I Choose a Great Brand for my Business, Product, or Service ? ()
• What Is Weekly Confusion Watch Service? ()
• Supplemental Register ()
• What Are Ornamental Trademarks? ()
• What Happens If I Don't Renew My Trademark In Time? ()
• What Does Confusingly Similar Mean? ()
• What Is a Trademark Assignment Agreement? ()
• What Does Date of First Use Mean? ()
• What Is a License Agreement? ()
• Why Is Search So Important? ()
• What Are Incontestable Trademarks? ()
• How Do I Check the Current Status of my Trademark Application? ()
• Important Amendments to Canada's Trademark Law ()
• How To Trademark a Name and Logo ()
• Trademarking Strategies For Life And Business Coaches ()
• How Do I Cancel Someone Else's Trademarks? ()
• Why Do Celebrities Trademark Their Catchphrases? ()
• How George Clooney Made $1 Billion Using Trademarks? ()
• Misspellings and Other Changes to Get Around Someone Else's Trademark ()
• How To Protect Your Brand On Amazon? ()
• Dividing a USPTO Trademark Application ()
• 5 Movies with Unbelievable Scenes about Trademarks and Intellectual Property ()
• Trademark Factory's New & Improved I Feel Lucky Package ()
• The Dumbest Advice About Trademarks You Could Ever Give ()
• 5 Things You Should Never Say About Your Brand ()
• Trademarks vs Domain Names ()
• What's Your Brand Worth? ()
• 3 Y's Of Protecting Your Brand ()
• Matrix of Success 2 Things a Business Needs for Success ()
• How Coca Cola Trademarked Their Brand ()
• Trademarks: Certainty vs. Commitment ()
• Trademarking Process In a Nutshell - TMs Into Rs Brand Protection Formula ()
• Can I Trademark An App ()
• 3 Types Of Businesses And What This Has To Do With Trademarks ()
• Incorporation vs Trademarking ()
• 3 Nasty Trademark Rip Offs And How To Avoid Them ()
• Do I Need To Have A Logo To Get A Trademark ()
• The Real Price You Pay For Trademarking ()
• Copyright, Trademarks and Patents: What's the Difference? ()