Apple denied musical note symbol trademark
GigaOM reports that late last month the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) denied Apple’s appeal to establish its famous music icon as a trademark, disagreeing with Apple’s contention that it would not cause confusion with MySpace’s similar mark.
In view of the facts that the marks are similar, the goods and services are related and are encountered by the same classes of consumers, we find that applicant's double musical note and design for "computer software [..]" is likely to cause confusion with the registered mark comprising a double musical note and design [..] for listening to MP3's and for sharing MP3's and music playlists with others.
The statement from the Board reinforces some factors valuators need to communicate to clients about strength of trademarks, especially with respect to similar or “related” goods and services and “same” classes of consumers.