This Opinion Is Not a Precedent of the TTAB
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This Opinion is not a Precedent of the TTAB Mailed: November 19, 2020 UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE _____ Trademark Trial and Appeal Board _____ Decentrix, Inc. v. Decentric Media Inc. _____ Opposition No. 91245504 _____ Clement J. Hayes Block45 Legal LLC for Decentrix, Inc. Jason M. Drangel of Epstein Drangel LLP for Decentric Media Inc. _____ Before Wellington, Goodman and English, Administrative Trademark Judges. Opinion by Goodman, Administrative Trademark Judge: Decentric Media Inc. (“Applicant”) filed applications to register DECENTRIC MEDIA (in standard character format, MEDIA disclaimed) for the following services:1 1 Applicant’s applications were all filed on April 3, 2018 based upon Applicant’s allegation of a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce under Section 1(b) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1051(b). References to the briefs and the record refer to the Board’s TTABVUE docket system. Opposition No. 91245504 (Serial No. 87860561) Class 35: Providing news, information, opinion, commentary in the field of careers via websites, the internet, and online electronic communications networks; Arranging and conducting business conferences in the fields of finance, entertainment, popular culture, and financial technology; providing on-line web directory and database services featuring hyperlinks to the websites of others; Providing and updating a financial index, namely, providing and updating the trading values of securities, currencies, and market information; (Serial No. 87860562) Class 36: Providing news, information, opinion, and commentary in the field of financial news and financial services in the field of cryptocurrency via websites, the internet, and online electronic communications networks; Providing financial information, namely, information on the trading values of securities, currencies, and market information; (Serial No: 87860564) Class 38: Internet broadcasting and streaming of audio-visual media content in the fields of financial information, popular culture, entertainment, careers, and human interest, namely, the delivery of programming, information, and data online and to mobile phones and devices; providing access to interactive electronic databases that contain news and information in financial information, popular culture, entertainment, careers, and human interest; telecommunications services, namely, providing email alerts via the internet to update subscribers on selected topics; providing on-line chat rooms and electronic bulletin boards for transmission of messages among computer users concerning financial news, popular culture, entertainment, financial technology, careers, lifestyle, and human interest; providing on-line chat rooms for social networking; providing voice chat services; ticker tape services; instant messaging services; (Serial No. 87860571) Class 41: Providing news, information, opinion, commentary in the field of entertainment, popular culture, and human interest in the nature of entertainment via websites, the internet, and online electronic communications networks; Providing content and media, namely, a website featuring on-line non-downloadable videos in the field of financial news, financial technology, entertainment, popular culture, careers, lifestyles, and human interest; On-line journals, namely, blogs featuring financial news, popular culture, entertainment, financial technology, careers, lifestyle, and human interest; Organizing live exhibitions and conferences in the fields of finance, entertainment, popular culture, and financial technology for non-business and non- commercial purposes; Providing a website featuring non-downloadable - 2 - Opposition No. 91245504 videos in the field of financial information, popular culture, and entertainment; Providing online publications in the nature of online blogs featuring nondownloadable videos in the fields of financial information, popular culture, entertainment, and financial technology and a website featuring non-downloadable videos in the fields of financial information, popular culture, entertainment, and financial technology; Entertainment in the nature of live stage performances in the nature of lectures in the field of financial news, popular culture, entertainment, financial technology, careers, lifestyle, and human interest by an individual; Providing on-line non-downloadable directory publications in the field of financial commodities prices, popular culture events, entertainment events, financial technology events, career events, lifestyle events, and human interest publications; Educational services, namely, conducting interviews, round tables, lectures, panels, conferences, seminars, and workshops in the field of financial news, popular culture, entertainment, financial technology, careers, lifestyle, and human interest and distribution of course materials in connection therewith in printed or electronic format; Arranging and conducting business seminars in the field of financial news, popular culture, entertainment, financial technology, careers, lifestyle, and human interest; arranging and conducting educational conferences; Production of audio and video for streaming online at websites, mobile phones and devices; (Serial No. 87860572) Class 42: Computer consulting services, namely, designing, integrating, operating and monitoring communications networks; Designing, integrating, managing, maintaining and monitoring of software applications for others; Implementing web sites for others; Providing news, information, opinion, and commentary in the field of technology used in the financial services industry; Providing news, information, opinion, and commentary in the field of technology that enables internet users to create, bookmark, aggregate, annotate, and publicly share data; Providing temporary use of a non-downloadable web application for receiving financial news; Providing temporary use of a non-downloadable web application for receiving career, lifestyle and human interest news; Providing online non-downloadable software that enables users to create, bookmark, aggregate, annotate, and publicly share data; Computer services, namely, technical monitoring of network systems and computer systems of others; Maintenance of computer software; Computer services, namely, managing computer networks for others; Technical support, namely, monitoring computer network firewalls, servers, and other network systems; Providing use of online non-downloadable software for managing and remotely accessing data and telecommunications and computer networks. - 3 - Opposition No. 91245504 Decentrix, Inc. (“Opposer”) opposes registration of Applicant’s DECENTRIC MEDIA mark on the grounds of likelihood of confusion, false suggestion of a connection and dilution.2 Opposer has pleaded ownership of a previously used DECENTRIX mark. Notice of Opposition ¶2, 1 TTABVUE 9. Opposer also pleaded ownership of the following applications for DECENTRIX (standard characters)3, Notice of Opposition, ¶¶3-7, 1 TTABVUE at 9-11: (Serial No. 88233286) Class 35: Business management consulting services for software and hardware deployment, administration management, business efficiency, and workflow optimization; database management; advertising and business management consultancy, namely, managing administration and execution of advertising campaign orders and the associated workflows; providing commercial information to consumers through web portals; market research for optimizing pricing by monitoring comparative market pricing with computer software and enabling customers to leverage the pricing of advertising or other content either for themselves or for others; ad serving, namely, placing advertisements for others on any medium; distribution of advertising materials through electronic mediums, websites, broadcast, print, OTT, MVPD, satellite, and mobile platforms for others; developing advertising campaigns to optimize and increase the value of inventory and enhance audience value; enabling centralized billing solutions through automating bookkeeping processes; providing consumer product advice for downloadable or remotely accessible computer software programs and platforms; advertising and directory services, namely, promoting the services of others by providing a web page featuring links to the websites of others; business monitoring and consulting services, namely, tracking websites and applications of others to provide strategy, insight, marketing, sales, operation, product design, particularly specializing in the use of analytic and statistic models for the understanding and predicting of consumers, businesses, and market trends and actions; business monitoring services, namely, 2 Opposer does not argue the dilution claim in its brief or otherwise argue that any evidence supports the dilution claim. Therefore, this claim has been waived. Alcatraz Media Inc. v. Chesapeake Marine Tours Inc., 107 USPQ2d 1750, 1753 n.6 (TTAB 2013). 3 All applications were filed December 18, 2018 under Section 1(a) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1051(a). - 4 - Opposition No. 91245504 tracking websites of others to provide details about user click traffic or visits to the website; marketing services; marketing the goods and services of others, namely, by providing hyperlinks to websites of others; website optimization; website traffic optimization; business monitoring services, namely, tracking of websites and applications for others for fraud detection to determine frequency and validity of site access that may impact advertising