Think Your "Unique" Spelling Protects You? Here’s Why You’re Still Infringing.

[00:00:00]Changing the spelling of a trademark name that you want from a trademark that already exists does not make it yours. Changing the spelling of a trademark may feel unique to you, but it's all the same to the USPTO. Federal trademark protection is not granted based on spelling. It is granted based on avoiding the likelihood of confusion. I get this question all the time.

[00:00:27]If I want to change my name or change the spelling of something that already exists, can I then trademark it? If you want to talk more about what a clearance search is and how to do a thorough one, you can use the booking link in the bio or visit ownershipattorney.com.

[00:00:43]But right now, I'm going to give you a real example of exactly how just changing the spelling plays out.

[00:00:51]There's this family restaurant called Country Corners. It's It's in South Dakota. They sued a gas station named Country Corner in Minnesota and they won. The gas station had originally operated under the name Food and Fuel and they received a cease and desist cease letter for that name. And so, they changed the name to Country Corner after several suggestions and they decided to change the name and change the C to a K.

[00:01:16]So, their Country Corner is spelled with a K. All good, right?

[00:01:21]Well, the family restaurant sued for infringement and the court agreed. The spelling was different. The protection was the same. The court stated that what is infringed upon is the right of the public to be free of confusion and the right of the trademark owner to control their product's reputation outside of any type of confusion. Phonetic equivalents are not workarounds. If it sounds the same, it still may infringe.

[00:01:48]Likelihood of confusion is the standard, not identical spelling.

[00:01:53]The USPTO looks at how a mark sounds and the impression it creates, not just how it is spelled. If the mark is the same or similar and used for the same or related products or services, it may cause a legal issue by just trying to change the name. Save this video before you rebrand anything or think that you're trying to be unique and set yourself apart from something that already exists.