Snap Inc., creator of the wildly popular Snapchat camera and messaging application that allows users to edit and share photographs, videos and messages, opposed the marks proffered for registration by applicant Peter Ferraro III in a filing submitted on Wednesday.
The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) opposition claims that registration of Ferraro’s proposed SNAPNSTOR and SNAP-N-STOR marks, to be used in conjunction with photo software for mobile phones and other uses, will confuse Snapchat users.
The Santa Monica, California, tech company explains that since its app launched in 2011, it has enjoyed tremendous success. “By February 2017, the SnapChat application had an estimated 79% market share among teenagers and young adults in the United States, giving it the highest reach of social media and networking sites, surpassing Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.” Now, the filing says, the app continues to grow with revenue increases of 52% year-over-year as of October 2020.
Accordingly, Snap has registered and used its marks, like SNAP, SNAPCODE, and SNAP ADS, to market its product, with the SNAPCHAT mark “having become famous and widely recognized by the general public as an indicator of the origin of Snap’s goods and services.”
The opposition expresses concern that registration of Ferraro’s proposed marks, which are similar in appearance and commercial impression and which are intended to be used with goods and services similar to Snap’s, will result in consumer confusion, mistake, or deception. Snap further argues that the applicant’s marks are “likely to dilute the distinctiveness of the famous SNAPCHAT mark by eroding consumers’ exclusive identification of the mark with Snap.”
The opposer requests that the TTAB sustain the proceeding in Snap’s favor and refuse the registration of Ferraro’s proposed marks. Snap is represented by Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP.
