Tribunal Rejects ‘Gasparilla’ Trademark Despite Coexistence Pact

A coexistance agreement covering “Gasparilla"-based clothing and glassware trademarks wasn’t enough to overcome a refusal to register the trademark, a trademark tribunal said.

An examining attorney was right to deny Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla’s application to register “Gasparilla” for some goods it sought to cover because of EventFest Inc.'s existing “Gasparilla Treasures” registration, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board said in a precedential opinion. Their pact attesting that the marks wouldn’t cause confusion was an insufficient “naked consent” because it didn’t explain why there’d be no confusion or what they’d do to prevent it, the board said.

Consent ...