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ARTICLE · 14 AUGUST 2018

TTAB Finds MASTERMIND For Beer Confusable With MASTERMIND VODKA For Spirits

Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C.
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Here we go again! The Board affirmed a refusal to register the mark MASTERMIND for beer, finding confusion likely with the registered mark MASTERMIND VODKA for "spirits" [VODKA disclaimed].

United StatesIntellectual Property
John L. Welch
John L. Welch
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Here we go again! The Board affirmed a refusal to register the mark MASTERMIND for beer, finding confusion likely with the registered mark MASTERMIND VODKA for "spirits" [VODKA disclaimed]. Applicant Fiddlehead trotted out the usual arguments, but third-party Internet evidence convinced the Board that the goods are related. In re Fiddlehead Brewing Company, LLC, Serial No. 86924382 (August 6, 2018) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Linda A. Kuczma).

The Marks: Noting that VODKA is disclaimed, the Board not surprisingly found MASTERMIND to be the dominant part of the cited mark. Consumers are generally more inclined to focus on the first word in any mark. The Board concluded that the marks are similar in appearance, sound, meaning and commercial impression.

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