CAFC Affirms TTAB's Cancellation of Nonprofit's Marks for Fundraising Services
Briefly

CAFC Affirms TTAB's Cancellation of Nonprofit's Marks for Fundraising Services
"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on Wednesday issued a precedential decision affirming the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board's (TTAB's) cancellation of the registration for the mark I AM MORE THAN AN ATHLETE. GP GAME PLAN. The CAFC also dismissed Game Plan, Inc.'s opposition to Uninterrupted IP, LLC's (UNIP's) six intent-to-use applications for marks containing I AM MORE THAN AN ATHLETE and MORE THAN AN ATHLETE."
"Game Plan, a nonprofit that assists student-athletes in underserved communities., applied to register the pictured mark (left) in 2016 and it was registered in 2018. It covers "[c]haritable fundraising services by means of selling t-shirts to raise funds for educational and entertainment programs." UNIP is a platform where athletes can share personal stories and otherwise express themselves. UNIP filed six intent-to-use applications for marks incorporating the phrases I AM MORE THAN AN ATHLETE and MORE THAN AN ATHLETE."
The CAFC affirmed cancellation of the I AM MORE THAN AN ATHLETE registration and dismissed Game Plan's opposition to UNIP's six intent-to-use applications. Game Plan applied to register its mark in 2016 and obtained registration in 2018 for charitable fundraising services via t-shirt sales. UNIP filed six intent-to-use applications for I AM MORE THAN AN ATHLETE and MORE THAN AN ATHLETE covering clothing and entertainment services including a website with videos, podcasts, films, and social media posts in sports. Game Plan opposed in 2018 alleging likelihood of confusion. UNIP counterclaimed to cancel Game Plan's registrations, asserting priority through a 2019 Assignment transferring all goodwill related to the marks.
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