Spotify won a trademark dispute against a cannabis app provider

Spotify won a trademark dispute in the US that has a slight tinge of marijuana.

The case concerns a trademark application for POTIFY by a small US company offering an app that connects users with firms that dispense and deliver cannabis.

Spotify, one of the largest music streaming companies in the world, filed an opposition based on earlier trademark SPOTIFY. According to the company, both signs were confusingly similar and what’s more, the mark applied for led to a trademark dilution by way of tarnishment and blurring.

The USPTO agreed with Spotify finding both marks confusingly similar due to clear visual and phonetic similarities. One letter difference was not enough to overcome this issue. According to the Office, dilution is possible too because of the clear association between the signs in the consumer’s mind.

The applicant’s arguments that their mark was created without relation to the famous brand, and that it focuses only on the term POT that is associated with the use of marijuana were dismissed.

The Office stated that taking into account the reputation of the earlier mark, it is highly unlikely that the owners of the cannabis app weren’t aware of the Spotify app service at all.

This dispute shows how risky such brand building can be. Although business areas can be different, a problem can arise again due to the established reputation of famous trademarks in the market.