Knox Fertilizer Requests Court To Declare Its PLATINUM TURF FERTILIZER Trademark is Not Likely to be Confused with PLATINUM and PLATINA Marks

 South Bend, Indiana – Trademark attorneys for Knox Fertilizer Company, Inc., of Knox, IN, have filed a complaint in federal court requesting that a ruling that the company’s PLATINUM TURF FERTILIZER trademark for turf fertilizers is not likely to be confused with a registered mark and an application cited by the U.S. Trademark Office. In particular, the Knox mark is the subject of U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 77/029,965, which was refused by the examining attorney and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, based on U.S. Trademark Reg. No. 2,517,856 for the mark PLATINUM for perennial rye grass seed and U.S. Trademark Application Serial No. 78/876,865 for the mark PLATINA for fertilizers and plant growth regulators. Knox points to differences in the appearance, sound, connotation, and commercial impression of the marks and the differences in the associated goods and channels of trade.

This case has been assigned to Judge Joseph Van Bokkelenand Magistrate Judge Christopher A. Nuechterleinin the Northern District of Indiana, and assigned case no. 3:10-cv-00422-JVB-CAN.

Practice Tip: Likelihood of confusion between two trademarks is determined by a number of factors, including the following: the similarity in the overall impression created by the two marks (including the marks’ look, phonetic similarities, and underlying meanings); the similarities of the goods and services involved (including an examination of the marketing channels for the goods); the strength of the marks; evidence of actual confusion by consumers; the degree of care likely to be exercised by the consumer; and the likelihood of expansion of the product lines using the marks.

Complaint – Knox Fertilizer by pauloverhauser on Scribd

Further information about this case is as follows:

Filed: October 13, 2010 as 3:2010cv00422 Updated: October 13, 2010 22:14:49

Presiding Judge:Joseph S Van Bokkelen

Referring Judge:Christopher A Nuechterlein

Cause Of Action: Trademark Infringement

 

 

Seventh Circuit > Indiana > Northern District Court

Type:Intellectual Property > Trademark