CAFC Affirms's TTAB's "OUTDOOR KIDS" Cancellation Dismissal

In an eight-page, nonprecedential decision (here), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the TTAB's decision in Outdoor Kids, Inc. v. Parris Manufacturing Co., Inc., Cancellation Nos. 92045687 and 92046943 (March 9, 2009) [not precedential]. [TTABlogged here]. The Board dismissed Outdoor Kids' petition for cancellation of two registrations for the mark KID'S OUTDOORS & Design (shown below) for clothing and toys [KID'S OUTDOORS disclaimed]. Petitioner relied on its registration for the mark OUTDOOR KIDS for outdoor clothing and sporting goods for children [KIDS disclaimed] in alleging likelihood of confusion and dilution. Despite the facts that the goods are legally identical, are deemed to travel in the same trade channels, and are purchased by ordinary consumers exercising ordinary care, the Board found the differences between the marks and the weakness of Petitioner's mark to be sufficient to distinguish the two marks.


On appeal, Outdoor Kids did not challenge the Board's factual findings on the du Pont factors, but instead urged that the Board committed legal error in its weighing of the factors. "Specifically, Outdoor Kids argues that the Board erred in giving little comparative weight to the similarity of the word marks, the similarity of the relevant goods, and the similarity of the trade channels in which the goods traveled." The CAFC disagreed.

[T]he Board determined that the weakness of the OUTDOOR KIDS mark and the distinguishing design characteristics of the KID’S OUTDOOR mark outweighed the other relevant DuPont factors and made confusion of Outdoor Kids’ and Parris’ marks unlikely.

The CAFC found no legal error on the part of the TTAB, and so it affirmed.

Outdoor Kids?(Click on photo for very large picture)
Text and Photograph Copyright John L. Welch 2001, 2010.