Nevada State Bank

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

Sep 26, 2007

No. 76487874 (T.T.A.B. Sep. 26, 2007)

Mailed: September 26, 2007

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
________

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
________

In re Nevada State Bank
________

Serial No. 76487874
_______

Lauri S. Thompson of Greenberg Traurig, LLC for Nevada State
Bank.

Priscilla Milton, Trademark Examining Attorney, Law Office 110
(Chris A.F. Pedersen, Managing Attorney).
_______

Before Seeherman, Quinn and Holtzman, Administrative Trademark
Judges.

Opinion by Holtzman, Administrative Trademark Judge:

An application has been filed by Nevada State Bank
(applicant) to register the mark REDDI-CHECKING (standard
character form) for "financial services; namely, banking;
checking accounts, checking account services" in Class 36.1
The trademark examining attorney has refused registration
under Section 2(d) of the Trademark Act on the ground that

1 Serial No. 76487874, filed February 6, 2003, based on an allegation
of first use and first use in commerce on June 1, 1993.
THIS OPINION IS
NOT A PRECEDENT OF
THE TTAB
Serial No. 76487874
2
applicant's mark, when used in connection with applicant's
services, so resembles the registered mark shown below for
"banking services, namely checking, savings, certificates of
deposit, money market and IRA accounts; savings bonds; credit and
debit cards; individual, commercial, consumer and real estate
loans; bank by mail, drive-up, ATM, telephone, electronic and
Internet; safe deposit boxes; and wire transfers" in Class 36, as
to be likely to cause confusion.2

When the refusal was made final, applicant appealed. Briefs
have been filed.
Our determination under Section 2(d) is based on an analysis
of all of the probative facts in evidence that are relevant to
the factors bearing on the likelihood of confusion issue. In re
E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., 476 F.2d 1357, 177 USPQ 563 (CCPA
1973). In any likelihood of confusion analysis, however, two key
considerations are the similarities or dissimilarities between

2 Registration No. 2939076; issued April 12, 2005. The registration
states, "The stippling in the drawing is for shading purposes only."
Serial No. 76487874
3
the marks and the similarities or dissimilarities between the
goods and/or services. See Federated Foods, Inc. v. Fort Howard
Paper Co., 544 F.2d 1098, 192 USPQ 24 (CCPA 1976).
We turn first to the services. Applicant's banking services
and checking account services are identical to, and/or fully
encompass, the particular "banking services" listed in the
registration. Further, because there are no restrictions in the
application or registration, these identical services must be
deemed to be offered in the same channels of trade and directed
to the same purchasers. See Genesco Inc. v. Martz, 66 USPQ2d
1260 (TTAB 2003); and Interstate Brands Corp. v. McKee Foods
Corp., 53 USPQ2d 1910 (TTAB 2000). We note that the potential
customers of banking services include ordinary members of the
general public. These customers are not necessarily
sophisticated, and we cannot agree with applicant that they will
exercise more than ordinary care in selecting the services. See
1st USA Realty Professionals, Inc., _____ USPQ2d _____, Serial
No. 78553715 (TTAB August 7, 2007) ("the Court in Amalgamated
[Amalgamated Bank of New York v. Amalgamated Trust & Savings
Bank, 842 F.2d 1270, 6 USPQ2d 1305 (Fed. Cir. 1988)] specifically
recognized that while some consumers choose their banks with
care, others do not.").
We turn next to a consideration of the marks. The examining
attorney argues that the similarities in sound, connotation and
Serial No. 76487874
4
overall commercial impression outweigh the dissimilarities
between the marks. In particular, the examining attorney
contends that the commercial impressions of the marks are similar
because the terms REDI and REDDI are the dominant features of the
marks. The examining attorney notes that the word CHECKING in
applicant's mark is generic for applicant's services, and that,
but for the hyphen in the mark, applicant would have been
required to disclaim that term. The examining attorney also
contends that it is the word REDI in registrant's mark, rather
than the design, that is entitled to greater weight, reasoning
that the word REDI is more likely than the design to be impressed
upon a purchaser's memory and also that the word would be used by
purchasers in calling for the services.
In determining the similarity or dissimilarity of marks, we
must consider the marks in their entireties in terms of sound,
appearance, meaning and commercial impression. See Palm Bay
Imports, Inc. v. Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, 396 F.3d 1369, 73
USPQ2d 1689 (Fed. Cir. 2005). While marks must be compared in
their entireties, one feature of a mark may have more
significance than another, and in such a case there is nothing
improper in giving greater weight to the dominant feature. See
In re National Data Corp., 753 F.2d 1056, 224 USPQ 749 (Fed. Cir.
1985).
Serial No. 76487874
5
The dominant part of applicant's mark REDDI-CHECKING is the
term REDDI. The word CHECKING, as the examining attorney points
out, is generic for applicant's services and, in and of itself,
this term is of no source-distinguishing effect. However, we do
not agree that the word REDI is necessarily the dominant part of
registrant's mark, or that REDI is necessarily entitled to more
weight than the design portion of registrant's mark.
In terms of appearance, it is the design element, rather
than the word, that dominates registrant's mark. The design is a
fanciful, cartoon like image of a locomotive engineer holding a
lantern. The image is much larger than the word REDI, which
appears in tiny script below the image, and it is by far the most
visually significant part of the mark.
The design is also stronger than the word REDI in conveying
the meaning and commercial impression of registrant's mark. REDI
is simply a misspelling of "ready" and the evidence made of
record by applicant shows that "ready" is highly suggestive of
banking services. Applicant has submitted over 15 pages of a
Google search summary where it can be seen even from these
abbreviated excerpts that the term "ready" is frequently used in
the banking field to denote cash that is available for immediate
use. Examples of these excerpts are shown below:

Serial No. 76487874
6
Citizens Bank - Oxfam VISA
Ready Cash And Credit. You can get 24 hour cash advances
through any of the 240,000 world-wide ARM's displaying the
VISA symbol...
www.citizensbank.com

Quackgrass Press #31: E-gold
"Money in the bank" is not ready cash (that depends on the
bank's financial health), but "gold in bailment" is ready
cash...
www.quackgrass.com

American State Bank
...Ready Reserve Overdraft Protection can be accessed when
using Ready Cash & Check to provide instant money for any
use. ...
www.clickonasb.com

Wachovia Small Business - Lines of Credit
Our lines of credit provide ready cash to help you meet
short-term funding needs...
www.wachovia.com

First National Bank - Ready Equity(sm) Home Equity Loans
With a Ready Equity SM Home Equity Loan, you will always
have ready cash for home improvements, debt consolidation,
or any special plans or purchases...
www.1stnational.com

Applicant has also submitted a number of third-party
registrations showing that "ready" is frequently incorporated in
marks for banking and financial services, further demonstrating
the highly suggestive meaning of this term. These registrations
include the following:
Registration No. 2872887 for the mark READY CASH
CHECKING (CASH CHECKING disclaimed) for "banking
services";

Registration No. 2344723 for the mark READYCASH (and
design) for "financial services for electronically
Serial No. 76487874
7
converting cash money into a predetermined, fixed
amount debit card";

Registration No. 2661364 for the mark RED D CA$H
(CASH disclaimed) for "financial services in the
nature of check cashing, deferred deposits, payroll
advancements, and short term loans";

Registration No. 1745376 (on the Supplemental
Register) for the mark READY ACCESS ACCOUNT (ACCOUNT
disclaimed) for "financial investment services;
namely, brokering margin accounts";

Registration No. 1341448 for the mark READY EQUITY
(EQUITY disclaimed) for "banking services"; and

Registration No. 0891400 for the mark READY-CREDIT
for "checking account services with overdraft
protection."

It is generally held that in comparing marks in their
entireties, less weight should be placed on highly suggestive
portions of the marks. See Tektronix, Inc. v. Daktronics, Inc.,
534 F.2d 915, 189 USPQ 693, 694 (CCPA 1976) ("Because marks,
including any suggestive portions thereof, must be considered in
their entireties, the mere presence of a common, highly
suggestive portion is usually insufficient to support a finding
of likelihood of confusion."); and Cumberland Packing Corp. v.
McMahan Products, Inc., 189 USPQ 428 (TTAB 1975).
While the term REDI is highly suggestive, the character
design in registrant's mark is entirely arbitrary and unique, and
is most significant in conveying the commercial impression of
Serial No. 76487874
8
registrant's mark. Giving more weight to the stronger design
feature, we find that the marks, as a whole, create distinctly
different commercial impressions.3 The term REDDI, a misspelling
of "ready," considered in relation to applicant's services and in
the context of the mark REDDI-CHECKING, suggests readily
available checking account funds. The term REDI in registrant's
mark is also a misspelling of "ready." However, in the context
of registrant's mark the term suggests something different from
the dictionary meaning of that term. "Redi" is displayed in
quotation marks below the image of the character, thereby
conveying the fanciful impression of the character's name, that
is, a character named "Redi."
It is true that the marks include the phonetically identical
terms REDDI and REDI, and to that extent, the two marks sound the
same. However, we find that when the marks are considered in
their entireties, the differences in the marks in appearance,
meaning and commercial impression far outweigh that one point of
similarity. In view of the highly suggestive nature of the word
"ready" and the evidence of third-party use of this term, the

3 However, in making this determination, we have given no weight to
applicant's argument and evidence that registrant only uses the design
without the word REDI on its website. Our analysis must be based on
the mark exactly as it appears in the registration. Nor do we agree
with applicant that the case, In re Electrolyte Labs, Inc., 929 F.2d
645, 16 USPQ2d 1239 (Fed. Cir. 1990), is applicable here. That case
involved composite marks featuring letters which, as the Court noted,
can be close to design marks and therefore may or may not be vocalized.
The literal portion of the composite mark in the present case consists
of an identifiable and pronounceable word.
Serial No. 76487874
9
fact that both marks contain the word REDI/REDDI is not a
sufficient basis for us to conclude that the marks are similar.
Notwithstanding the identity of the services, we find that,
in view of the dissimilarities between the marks, and moreover,
the relative weakness of REDI for banking services, even
purchasers exercising only ordinary care in the purchase of these
services would be able to readily distinguish the two marks. See
Kellogg Co. v. Pack’em Enterprises Inc., 951 F.2d 330, 21 USPQ2d
1142, 1145 (Fed. Cir. 1991) (even a single du Pont factor can be
dispositive).
Decision: The refusal to register under Section 2(d) of the
Trademark Act is reversed.