TTAB Dismisses DENTISTRY DONE DIFFERENTLY Opposition: Failure To Prove Priority

The Board dismissed this opposition to registration of DENTISTRY DONE DIFFERENTLY for "dentist services" because Opposer Timber Dental failed to prove priority. Opposer claimed common law rights in the same phrase, but its proofs showed prior use of a different mark. Timber Dental LLC v. Tooth, LLC, Opposition No. 91234587 (April 12, 2019) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Lorelei Ritchie).

In order to establish prior trademark rights, an opposer must show that its alleged mark is distinctive, inherently or otherwise. There was no allegation or evidence that DENTISTRY DONE DIFFERENTLY is not distinctive of  "dental services," and so the Board found that "that while the mark is suggestive, on this record it appears to be inherently distinctive."