50 Years After Pioneering Vaginal Care Branding, Combe Fends Off Similar Competing Trademark50 Years After Pioneering Vaginal Care Branding, Combe Fends Off Similar Competing[...]

The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) agreed with Vagisil feminine care product marketer Combe Inc. that Marke Enterprises LLC's proposed trademark VAGISERT for its vaginal antifungal preparation would cause marketplace confusion and its registration should be rejected. Finnegan attorneys Douglas Rettew, Anna Naydonov, and Sydney English represented Combe and stated that the TTAB decision recognizes the marketplace power of a popular brand like Vagisil as well as Combe's Vagistat brand. They said:

'This decision shows that the TTAB recognizes the commercial magnetism of brands like Vagisil and Vagistat and the harm that can arise from similar marks, like Vagisert. It also shows that, when one can prove that a brand is legally 'famous,' as Combe did here for Vagisil, the TTAB will afford that mark a wide and broad scope of protection. Like all trademark owners, OTC drug manufacturers should federally register their important brands (although that's not required to assert rights) and should establish and follow a robust enforcement program to challenge and stop similar marks.'

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