To answer an objection or opposition to a trademark registration, identifying when a trademark is identical or confusingly similar to another is of vital importance. 

The assessment may be directed to two elements of the trademark: (1) sign; (2) goods and/or services.

The first element concerns letters, words, figures and other things that may be used as trademark. To determine if a sign is identical or confusingly similar to another we must take into account:

• Visual: Do they look the same or very alike?
• Aural: Do they sound identical or too similar?
• Conceptual: do they share the same meaning or they are synonyms or they are interchangeable terms?

The second could be a litter more complex, involving an analysis on what the trademark represents, that is, goods and/or services. It is necessary to establish:

• Nature of the goods and/or services
• Purpose of the goods and/or services
• Usage of the goods and/or services
• Determine whether the goods and/or services are in competition with each other or if they may substitute each other
• Level of attention of the consumer according to goods and/or services

The class in which they have been requested or registered is not a final factor, since the goods and/or services on the same class could be entirely unrelated.

Versión en español | Spanish version