Fletcher YoderThe Fed. Circuit reversed the Board’s refusal to register the mark TAKETEN in view of a registered mark TAKE 10!. Although the marks are similar, substantial evidence did not support the USPTO’s refusal to register the TAKETEN mark given the dissimilarities in the respective services and goods and the high degree of consumer care.
Infringement defendant who sells component part for plaintiff’s end product can use plaintiff’s trademark to show that its product is component part, provided defendant otherwise makes clear to prospective purchasers that part was not made by plaintiff; in present case, defendants’ sales of their replacement grilles for plaintiff’s vehicles, embedded with plaintiff’s “bow tie” and “GMC” designs, are not likely to cause either point-of-sale confusion or “downstream” confusion.