Google filed an application for the Nexus One trademark back on 10th December 2009 for use in connection with mobile phones. It would appear however that whoever handled the filing didn’t spend a lot of time on the initial conflict search report, as the Trademark Office has recently issued a notice of refusal:
SECTION 2(d) REFUSAL – LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION
Registration of the applied-for mark is refused because of a likelihood of confusion with the mark in U.S. Registration No. 3554195.
The refusal has been issued on the grounds that the mark could conflict with an existing NEXUS trademark (3554195) granted on December 30, 2008 to Integra Telecom under the same class with a description which includes the provision of telecommunication services and the transmission of voice and data. The refusal goes on to explain the Trademark Office’s objections:
In this case, the following factors are the most relevant: similarity of the marks, similarity of the goods and/or services, and similarity of trade channels of the goods and/or services.
The goods and/or services of the parties need not be identical or directly competitive to find a likelihood of confusion.
The applied-for mark encompasses the registered mark. Likelihood of confusion is often found where the entirety of one mark is incorporated within another.
No doubt Google will be contesting this refusal, which they are entitled to do under the trademark registration procedure. I’m by no means an expert on trademark law so can’t comment on how likely Google are to overcome this hurdle but will be watching this one closely.
