TTAB Deems MONTANA EQUINE Confusable with MONTANA ROSE EQUINE THERAPY for Horse-related Services

The Board affirmed a Section 2(d) refusal of the mark MONTANA EQUINE for, inter alia, "Veterinary sports medicine and physical rehabilitation services for horses through use of modalities and exercise," [EQUINE disclaimed], concluding that confusion is likely with the registered mark MONTANA ROSE EQUINE THERAPY for, inter alia, "Physical rehabilitation services for horses through use of massage and exercises" [EQUINE THERAPY disclaimed]. Applicant Western Veterinary jockeyed for a reversal but the Board rode with Examining Attorney Tracy Fletcher. In re Western Veterinary IP, LLC, Serial No. 98727230 (August 24, 2026) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Cheryl S. Goodman).

Western argued that the Board should consider the extrinsic evidence regarding its and registrant’s actual uses to show that the involved services are “disparate.” The Board pointed out, however, that "we may not consider arguments “about how the parties’ actual … services … are narrower or different from the … services identified in the application[] and registration[ ].” The Board found the above-recited services to be "in part identical and in part legally identical."

Western contended that the services are offered in different trade channels and marketed to different localized customers. The Board was unmoved, pointing out again that "[t]he real-world use restrictions argued by Applicant do not appear in the identification of services, and we cannot read limitations into identifications based on either argument or evidence of actual use."

Moreover, although Applicant contends that the trade channels do not overlap because Applicant’s and Registrant’s services are each local to a specific geographic area, the Board is constrained to evaluate likelihood of confusion in terms of nationwide markets when an applicant is seeking a geographically unrestricted registration.

The Board was required to presume that the in part identical and legally identical services are offered to the same classes of consumers and move through the identical trade channels.

As to purchaser care, the Board acknowledged that "a decision as important as choosing a veterinarian or a provider of rehabilitation services for horses will be made with some thought and research and a higher degree of care," and it found that the fourth DuPont factor weighed in Western's favor.

As to the strength of registrant’s mark, the Board found it to be inherently distinctive but noted that the Board may consider whether an inherently distinctive mark is “weak as a source indicator.” Western contended that the terms MONTANA and EQUINE are weak because MONTANA is primarily geographic and commonly used in third-party registered marks, and EQUINE is generic or descriptive for horse-related services and is a term used in many third-party registrations. 

Registrant’s services, however, are offered in Minnesota, not Montana, and Western did not show that Montana is known for physical rehabilitation horse exercise and massage services. Therefore, the Board did not find the word MONTANA in Registrant’s mark to be conceptually weak as a geographic term. The Board also did not find that MONTANA or MONTANA ROSE have any surname significance. However, EQUINE is a conceptually weak term. The Board concluded that the sixth DuPont factor was neutral.

Turning to the marks, the Board found that the dominant term in Western’s mark is MONTANA while the dominant terms in registrant’s mark are MONTANA ROSE. The additional words in the cited mark " do not materially alter the similar overall commercial impression created by the shared initial term MONTANA and the related wording EQUINE."

Considered in their entireties, we find that Applicant’s MONTANA EQUINE mark and Registrant’s MONTANA ROSE EQUINE THERAPY mark are similar overall in appearance, sound, connotation, and commercial impression due to the shared terms MONTANA and EQUINE, which are likely to create a similar overall recollection of the marks. Even if consumers note and remember the additional middle and end words in Registrant’s mark, they are not likely to ascribe the differences between the marks to differences in the source of the respective services. 

The Board concluded that the factor weighing against confusion was outweighed by the similarity of the marks, the identical-in-part and legally identical services, and the overlapping trade channels and consumers.

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TTABlogger comment: Not the most exciting decision I've ever read.

Text Copyright John L. Welch 2026.