Kanye West cannot hold “Sunday Service” trademark
Summary:
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has denied Kanye West’s application to trademark “Sunday Service.” Kanye West applied for this trademark for a clothing line to promote his new Christian-themed shows. The USPTO denied his application on the grounds that “Sunday Service” is already registered by another music artist.
Key Takeaways:
1. The USPTO will not register trademarks that are confusingly similar (trademarks that either sound or look alike) for goods or services that are in the same class (Trademark Act Section 2(d)). A class of goods is a grouping of similar goods or services.¹ For example, shoes, shirts, hats, and jackets are all in the clothing / apparel class of goods.
2. The USPTO may deny a confusingly similar trademark even if it is not registered under the exact same class of good.² Kanye West applied to use the trademark on clothing. DJ Escape, the current owner of the trademark, is registered for use “to arrange social entertainment events.” The USPTO determined that since both Kanye West and DJ Escape are in the musical entertainment sphere, there is a likelihood that customers may not know who (Kanye West or DJ Escape) is the source of a particular good or service. For this reason, Kanye West’s application was denied.