Q: Should I still try and file this trademark? Or is it just a waste of time and money?
Hi I want to file a trademark for my business name, but a company already owns the "Word Mark" very similar to it.
For example. My company is called "Fitness Training AI" - which is a fitness training company built around AI and machine learning. However, there is a trademark for "Fitness Training" already registered in the same category except for its NOT AI or machine learning, but they do offer fitness training. Should/Can I still try and register my trademark?
From what I can see for the company "Fitness Training" their status says: No assignment has been recorded at the USPTO
I am using "Fitness Training" as an example but the words that I would like to trademark are common words sometimes used together and have been getting more hype in recent years.
A: The trademark filing system is divided into Classes (groups of goods and services). It’s possible that the already registered mark may be in a different Class from yours, which could make it possible for your mark to co-exist with that registration. However, my recommendation would be to use do a professional trademark search to know with more certainty whether your proposed mark and the already registered mark would be able to do-exist.
A:
The obstacle for registration of your mark may be that it is "merely descriptive" of the services, not just that there is another similar mark in use. You would be well advised to adopt a mark that has at least some element of distinctiveness, to overcome the likely refusal on the basis of its using descriptive words alone.
As an example, the mark FITNESS TRAINING cannot be registered for fitness training services, but the mark NOBLE FITNESS TRAINING is currently registered; however, that registration has this disclaimer: "NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE "FITNESS TRAINING" APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN".
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