Deb Reid and Spark Yoga LLCv.Radiant Yoga LLC dba YogaSparkDownload PDFTrademark Trial and Appeal BoardApr 23, 202192064505 (T.T.A.B. Apr. 23, 2021) Copy Citation This Opinion is not a Precedent of the TTAB Mailed: April 23, 2021 UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE _____ Trademark Trial and Appeal Board _____ Deb Reid and Spark Yoga LLC v. Radiant Yoga LLC dba YogaSpark _____ Cancellation No. 92064505 _____ Gregory P. Brummett of Brummett Techlaw PLLC for Deb Reid and Spark Yoga LLC. Lisa A. Ferrari, Edward M. Weisz, and Brianne L. Polito of Cozen O’Connor for Radiant Yoga LLC dba YogaSpark. _____ Before Taylor, Goodman and Lynch, Administrative Trademark Judges. Opinion by Goodman, Administrative Trademark Judge: Radiant Yoga LLC dba YogaSpark (“Respondent”) owns a registration for the mark shown below for “Physical fitness training services” in International Class 41.1 1 Registration No. 4525175 issued May 6, 2014. The description of the mark reads: “The mark consists of the words ‘YOGA’ and ‘SPARK’ combined, with the ‘letter O’ in the word ‘YOGA’ depicted as a flame design.” Color is not claimed as a feature of the mark. Cancellation No. 92064505 - 2 - Deb Reid and Spark Yoga LLC (“Petitioner”)2 filed a petition to cancel the registration of Respondent’s mark on the ground of likelihood of confusion under Trademark Act Section 2(d), 15 U.S.C. § 1052(d).3 Petitioner pleads use of the mark YOGASPARK in connection with services “including, but not limited to, yoga classes and retreats for individuals and groups.” Petitioner alleges use of the YOGASPARK mark on the website www.yogaspark.com as well as on social media accounts, including Facebook, prior to Respondent’s use. Petitioner also pleads ownership of Application Serial No. 87173448 for the mark YOGASPARK in connection with “Providing fitness instruction services in the field of yoga; providing fitness training services in the field of yoga” in International Class 41.4 Petition to Cancel, 1 TTABVUE. Respondent filed an answer, and subsequently filed first and second amended answers. Respondent admitted Petitioner’s filing of a pending trademark application References to the briefs and the record refer to the Board’s TTABVUE docket system. 2 We initially shall refer as appropriate to both Spark Yoga LLC, the joined petitioner, and Deb Reid, the original petitioner as “petitioner” except where we distinguish the two for purposes of clarity. As discussed below, the Board joined Spark Yoga LLC as a party-plaintiff as a result of Deb Reid’s assignment of her rights in the pleaded mark and her pending application to Spark Yoga LLC. 47 TTABVUE. 3 Petitioner attempted later to allege a fraud claim but the motion to amend was denied by the Board as untimely. 103 TTABVUE. 4 The application was filed September 16, 2016 under Section 1(a) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1051(a) based upon a claim of first use anywhere and use in commerce since at least as early as January 31, 2010. Cancellation No. 92064505 - 3 - for YOGASPARK but otherwise denied the salient allegations in the petition to cancel.5 Respondent asserted affirmative defenses.6 Respondent also sought to amend its identification of services from “physical fitness training services” to “physical fitness training services in the nature of yoga classes and training offered to consumers at branded studios under the trademark.”7 44 TTABVUE. Both Petitioner and Respondent submitted trial briefs. I. The Record Before turning to the substantive merits of this proceeding, we first consider the evidence of record. On January 8, 2020, the Board granted Respondent’s motion to strike the discovery deposition testimony and exhibits of Deb Reid, Susan Park, and John Wellborn submitted during Petitioner’s testimony period, as well as the 5 Respondent’s second amended answer, 55 TTABVUE 12-18, is the operative pleading. See Board order at 79 TTABVUE. 6 Respondent’s affirmative defenses have been waived because they were neither tried nor argued in Respondent’s brief. See Alcatraz Media Inc. v. Chesapeake Marine Tours Inc., 107 USPQ2d 1750, 1752 n.6 (TTAB 2013). 7 Respondent references the TRADEMARK TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD MANUAL OF PROCEDURE (TBMP) § 514.03 which indicates that if the Board ultimately finds that a defendant is not entitled to registration in the absence of a restriction that was timely proposed by the defendant, the proposed restriction will be approved and entered. But, on the other hand, if the Board ultimately finds that defendant is entitled to registration even without the proposed restriction, defendant will be allowed time to indicate whether it still wishes to have the restriction entered. 44 TTABVUE 3; TBMP § 514.03 (2020). We address the request for a restriction at the end of this decision. Cancellation No. 92064505 - 4 - summary judgment declaration of Petitioner’s counsel Gregory Brummett, submitted under notice of reliance during Petitioners’ testimony period. 8 119 TTABVUE. Because the exhibits B-K attached to the Brummett declaration were submitted under a notice of reliance, the Board also considered whether any of the exhibits attached to the declaration were admissible. The Board determined that Exhibit C, an excerpt of the discovery deposition testimony of Lauren Porat, a principal of Respondent, and Exhibit K, a printout from the website “classpass.com” were admissible under the notice of reliance. Id. The remaining exhibits B, and D-J attached to the Brummett declaration were stricken.9 The notice of reliance had a defect in that it did not explain the relevance of the two remaining exhibits, and the Board allowed Petitioner time to cure the defect. Id. Petitioner filed the amended notice of reliance on January 28, 2020, explaining the relevance of the two exhibits, and labeling them as Exhibits A and B. 120 TTABVUE. In its amended notice of reliance, Petitioner states that Ms. Porat’s discovery deposition testimony is “relevant to establishing Reid’s common law rights in the mark YOGASPARK” based on Porat’s “knowledge of the existence of Deb Reid’s website, www.yogaspark.com, and Reid’s use of the mark YOGASPARK in conjunction with her business of yoga instruction.” Id. The classpass.com printout is 8 These deposed individuals are either a Petitioner, the designated witness for a Petitioner, or the owner of a Petitioner and not an adverse party. The summary judgment declaration was not affirmed as an exhibit to other testimony. 119 TTABVUE. 9 In this order, the Board denied Petitioner’s motion to reopen testimony and denied Respondent’s motion for involuntary dismissal. 119 TTABVUE. Cancellation No. 92064505 - 5 - “relevant to the normal business practices within yoga studios for establishing Reid’s common law rights in the mark YOGASPARK.” Id. The parties have designated Ms. Porat’s discovery deposition testimony as being “partially confidential” and the excerpt of Ms. Porat’s testimony (Exhibit A under Petitioner’s amended notice of reliance), has been filed confidentially. However, it is unclear what portions of this testimony are truly confidential. As indicated by Petitioner’s amended notice of reliance, the discovery deposition testimony excerpt includes Ms. Porat’s testimony as to her search and review of Deb Reid’s website, www.yogaspark.com, testimony related to the services offered on Ms. Reid’s website and whether Ms. Reid offered services similar to Respondent’s. There is nothing confidential about Ms. Porat’s testimony about an Internet website that is open to public view nor her testimony about Ms. Reid’s or Respondent’s services offered to the public. RXD Media, LLC v. IP Application Dev. LLC, 125 USPQ2d 1801, 1805 n.18 (TTAB 2018) (finding testimony regarding trademark searches and applicant’s services offered under the mark improperly designated as confidential); Inter IKEA Sys. B.V. v. Akea, LLC, 110 USPQ2d 1734, 1744 (TTAB 2014) (printout of shopping cart webpage available to the public is not confidential). The parties cannot shield from the public information that is not truly confidential. Therefore, in order to render a decision that relates to the relevant facts of this case, we have referred to selective portions of this testimony that appear to us to be not truly confidential. Trademark Rule 2.116(g), 37 C.F.R. § 2.116(g) (“[t]he Board may treat as not confidential that material which cannot reasonably be Cancellation No. 92064505 - 6 - considered confidential, notwithstanding a designation as such by a party.”); see Coach/Braunsdorf Affinity, Inc. v. 12 Interactive, LLC, 110 USPQ2d 1458, 1461 (TTAB 2014) (Board was not bound by petitioner’s confidential designations, and treated only testimony and evidence that was clearly of a private or commercial nature as confidential); General Motors Corp. v. Aristide & Co., 87 USPQ2d 1179, 1181 (TTAB 2008) (to render a decision that relates to the facts of the case the Board referred to selective portions of the record that appear to be not truly confidential). As to Exhibit B submitted under the amended notice of reliance, the classpass.com Internet printout is admissible for what it shows on its face, but also constitutes hearsay and may not be relied upon for the truth of the matters asserted therein. Weaponx Performance Prods. Ltd. v. Weapon X Motorsports, Inc., 126 USPQ2d 1034, 1038 (TTAB 2018). Although Respondent filed notices of taking testimony, it ultimately took no testimony nor submitted evidence during its testimony period.10 But Respondent did admit in its second amended answer Petitioner’s allegation in the petition to cancel that “Petitioner filed an application for the mark ‘YOGASPARK’ (‘Petitioner’s Mark’) on September 16, 2016, that has been assigned Application Serial No. 87/173,448, for use in connection with ‘Providing fitness instruction services in the field of yoga; providing fitness training services in the field of yoga’ in International Class 041, 10 109-112 TTABVUE. Because “Respondent did not introduce any testimony or evidence,” the Board also struck Petitioner’s notice of rebuttal disclosures which sought to submit rebuttal evidence. 128 TTABVUE. Cancellation No. 92064505 - 7 - asserting a date of first use in commerce of at least January 31, 2010.” Petition to Cancel ¶7, 1 TTABVUE, Second amended Answer ¶7, 55 TTABVUE. During the pendency of the proceeding, Petitioner Deb Reid assigned her mark to Spark Yoga LLC (Spark Yoga). Petitioner filed the notice of assignment and notification of the recordation of assignment document with the Office’s Assignment Branch at Reel/Frame 6263/0149. 46 TTABVUE. The Board acknowledged the assignment, joining Spark Yoga as a party plaintiff. 47 TTABVUE. By joining Spark Yoga as a petitioner, the Board determined that Spark Yoga had the right to maintain this proceeding. See Trademark Rule 3.71(d), 37 C.F.R. §3.71(d). Therefore, Spark Yoga owns all rights to the trademark previously owned by Deb Reid, and as set forth in the Petition to Cancel, application Serial No. 87173448. That is, Spark Yoga, as assignee, steps into the shoes of petitioner Deb Reid. Id. See e.g., Karsten Mfg. Corp. v. Editoy AG, 79 USPQ2d 1783, 1790 n.9 (TTAB 2006) (an assignee stands in the shoes of its assignor); William & Scott Co. v. Earl’s Rest. Ltd. 30 USPQ2d 1870, 1873 (TTAB 1994) (assignee of trademark and pleaded registration, substituted as party plaintiff in opposition, may rely on assignor’s prior use of the mark and is entitled to go forward on assignor’s claim of priority of likelihood of confusion as alleged in the notice of opposition). Cancellation No. 92064505 - 8 - II. Statutory Entitlement to Bring a Cancellation Proceeding11 In every inter partes case, the plaintiff must establish its statutory entitlement to bring an opposition or cancellation proceeding. “A petitioner’s allegations alone do not establish [] [a statutory entitlement to bring a cancellation proceeding].... The facts regarding [] [a statutory entitlement to bring a cancellation proceeding] … are part of a petitioner’s case and must be affirmatively proved.” See Lipton Indus. v. Ralston Purina Co., 670 F.2d 1024, 213 USPQ 185, 188-89 (CCPA 1982). To establish entitlement to a statutory cause of action, a plaintiff must demonstrate: (i) an interest falling within the zone of interests protected by the statute and (ii) proximate causation. Corcamore, LLC v. SFM, LLC, 978 F.3d 1298, 2020 USPQ2d 11277, at *4 (Fed. Cir. 2020). Demonstrating a real interest in opposing or cancelling a registration of a mark satisfies the zone-of-interests requirement, and demonstrating a reasonable belief in damage by the registration of a mark demonstrates damage proximately caused by registration of the mark. Id. at *7-8. Where there are multiple plaintiffs, each plaintiff must prove its statutory entitlement to bring the opposition or cancellation proceeding and, in the case of a likelihood of confusion claim, prior use. Int’l Dairy Foods Ass’n v. Interprofession du Gruyère et al., 2020 USPQ2d 10892 at *9 (TTAB 2020). 11 “[O]ur prior decisions and those of the Federal Circuit assessing a party’s ‘standing’ under Sections 13 and 14 remain applicable despite the change in nomenclature of the inquiry to entitlement to a statutory cause of action.” Spanishtown Enterprises, Inc. v. Transcend Resources, Inc., 2020 USPQ2d 11388 at *2 (TTAB 2020). Cancellation No. 92064505 - 9 - While Petitioner did not address this issue in its brief, Respondent submits that Petitioner has not established its statutory entitlement to bring the cancellation proceeding. Respondent, referencing the trademark assignment to Spark Yoga asserts that Petitioner Deb Reid “no longer claims ownership rights in the mark,” did not introduce evidence of her statutory entitlement to bring a cancellation proceeding, and there is no other evidence in the record of Deb Reid’s statutory entitlement to bring the cancellation. 132 TTABVUE 10, 16. Respondent also asserts that Spark Yoga never amended the petition to cancel to properly allege its statutory entitlement to bring the cancellation which would include the assignment of the application (“Thus, Spark Yoga never alleged a stake in the proceedings or identified a statutory basis for its claim of cancellation.”) 133 TTABVUE 10, 16-17. Respondent argues that Spark Yoga did not submit any evidence of statutory entitlement to bring the cancellation proceeding during trial. 133 TTABVUE 17. With respect to Petitioner Deb Reid, Respondent’s admission in the second amended answer does not establish her statutory entitlement to bring a cancellation proceeding as she has assigned the mark to Spark Yoga and there is no evidence in the record that she has licensed back use of the YOGASPARK mark. See e.g., Karsten Mfg., 79 USPQ2d at 1790 n.9 (“[T]he law is well established that an assignee stands in the shoes of its assignor.”); 3 J. Thomas McCarthy, MCCARTHY ON TRADEMARKS AND UNFAIR COMPETITION § 18:15 (5th ed. March 2021 update) (“After an assignment, the assignor has divested itself of its trademark rights.”); see also Moke Am. LLC v. Cancellation No. 92064505 - 10 - Moke USA, LLC, 2020 USPQ2d 10400, at 2 & *8 n.32 (TTAB 2020) (plaintiff found to have standing based on assignment and license back of mark, by providing testimony of the assignment and license back as well as evidence of trademark use and advertising subsequent thereto); J.L. Prescott Co. v. Blue Cross Labs. (Inc.), 216 USPQ 1127, 1128 (TTAB 1982) (opposer that had assigned mark and obtained exclusive license from assignee had standing). Ms. Porat’s testimony also does not establish Deb Reid’s statutory entitlement, as Ms. Porat’s testimony discusses Deb Reid’s website from 2012 and does not address Deb Reid’s current use of YOGASPARK. See e.g., Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. v. Bio-Chek, LLC, 90 USPQ2d 1112, 1118 (TTAB 2009) (witness testimony that opposer uses the mark in connection with a temperature sensing device, sufficient to establish standing). In addition, Ms. Porat does not view Deb Reid as a competitor, stating that their services were “so different” “we are –have different –totally different businesses,” “totally different consumers, as I said before, totally different channels of trade” and “I didn’t think that there –that she had a mark YogaSpark.” 121 TTABVUE, confidential. Accordingly, Deb Reid has failed to establish her statutory entitlement to bring this cancellation. Therefore the petition to cancel is dismissed as to Petitioner Deb Reid.12 With respect to Petitioner Spark Yoga, Respondent admitted in the second amended answer Petitioner’s ownership of the pending trademark application Serial No. 87173448 for the mark YOGASPARK for “Providing fitness instruction services 12 Going forward, any reference to “Petitioner” hereinafter is limited to Spark Yoga. Cancellation No. 92064505 - 11 - in the field of yoga; providing fitness training services in the field of yoga.” Although Respondent argues otherwise, this admission is sufficient to establish Spark Yoga’s statutory entitlement to bring a cancellation proceeding. In particular, Spark Yoga was entitled to rely on the allegations in the petition to cancel related to this application, and it was not necessary that Spark Yoga establish ownership of this application separately as it succeeds Deb Reid’s interests and can rely on the existing allegation in the petition to cancel as to this application. See Trademark Rule 3.71(d), 37 C.F.R. §3.71(d); William & Scott Co. v. Earl’s Rest. Ltd., 30 USPQ2d 1870, 1873 (TTAB 1994) (assignee of trademark substituted as party plaintiff in opposition is entitled to go forward on assignor’s claim of priority of likelihood of confusion as alleged in the notice of opposition). Additionally, it is not necessary that Spark Yoga prove that the Office cited Respondent’s mark as a bar to registration. “It is sufficient if the circumstances are such that it would be reasonable for a petitioner to believe that the existence of the respondent’s registration would damage him, e.g., a reasonable belief that there is a likelihood of confusion between the marks, or that the presence on the register of the respondent’s mark may hinder the petitioner in using or registering his mark.” Spirits Int’l, B.V. v. S.S. Taris Zeytin Ve Zeytinyagi Tarim Satis Kooperatifleri Birligi, 99 USPQ2d 1545, 1548 (TTAB 2011). Thus, statutory entitlement to bring a cancellation proceeding can be found based on the filing of an application to register an identical mark for related services. Id. (standing found by the filing of a trademark application with the Office where the parties’ marks are identical and the goods Cancellation No. 92064505 - 12 - arguably related). Here, the admission in Respondent’s answer establishes that assignee Spark Yoga’s predecessor in interest filed a trademark application for the identical mark YOGASPARK for yoga services that are encompassed by Respondent’s “physical fitness training services,” which is sufficient to establish Spark Yoga’s statutory entitlement to bring the cancellation proceeding. III. Priority In order for Petitioner to prevail on a claim of likelihood of confusion based on its ownership of common-law rights in a mark, the mark must be distinctive, inherently or otherwise, and Petitioner must show that it obtained rights in that distinctive term through use prior to that of Respondent. See Otto Roth & Co. v. Universal Foods Corp., 640 F.2d 1317, 209 USPQ 40, 44 (CCPA 1981). Absent argument or evidence showing otherwise, we find that YOGASPARK is inherently distinctive. Wet Seal Inc. v. FD Mgmt., Inc., 82 USPQ2d 1629, 1634 (TTAB 2007). In a cancellation proceeding, to establish priority on a likelihood of confusion claim brought under Section 2(d) of the Trademark Act, a party must prove, vis-à-vis the other party, that it owns “a mark or trade name previously used in the United States and not abandoned.” Trademark Act 2(d), 15 U.S.C. § 1052(d). Petitioner must prove its priority by a preponderance of the evidence. Hydro-Dynamics, Inc. v. George Putman & Co., 811 F.2d 1470, 1 USPQ2d 1772, 1773 (Fed. Cir. 1987). We must “look at the evidence as a whole, as if each piece of evidence were part of a puzzle which, when fitted together, establishes prior use.” W. Fla. Seafood Inc. v. Jet Rests. Inc., 31 F.3d 1122, 31 USPQ2d 1660, 1663 (Fed. Cir. 1994). Cancellation No. 92064505 - 13 - As stated, Spark Yoga, as assignee, may rely on Deb Reid’s prior use of the mark for purposes of priority. See William & Scott Co. v. Earl’s Rest. Ltd. 30 USPQ2d at 1873. Respondent relies on its August 28, 2013 filing date of the underlying application that matured into its involved registration for purposes of priority. Kemi Organics, LLC v. Rakesh Gupta, 126 USPQ2d 1601, 1604 (TTAB 2018) (“For priority purposes, a respondent may rely upon the filing date of the underlying application that matured into its involved registration”) (citing 15 U.S.C. § 1057(c); Cent. Garden & Pet Co. v. Doskocil Mfg. Co., 108 USPQ2d 1134, 1140-41 (TTAB 2013)). Therefore, we consider the evidence in the record as to Deb Reid’s prior use and whether the use was prior to Respondent’s priority date. Petitioner argues that Deb Reid had prior rights in the mark YOGASPARK in connection with “yoga-based instructional and training services well before Registrant’s first use of the confusingly similar mark.” 129 TTABVUE 9. Petitioner references the testimony of Ms. Porat relating to testimonials on Deb Reid’s website as sufficient to establish Ms. Reid’s prior use of YOGASPARK in connection with yoga instruction-based instructional and training services. Id. As evidence of Deb Reid’s prior use, Petitioner also references Ms. Porat’s testimony regarding her search of Deb Reid’s website www.yogaspark.com in 2012 and her review of the website. 129 TTABVUE 7-8. Respondent, on the other hand, argues that there is no evidence of record to prove Petitioner’s prior use of YOGASPARK such as use or promotion, sales figures, customer lists, or corroborating testimony regarding use of the mark in the United Cancellation No. 92064505 - 14 - States. 133 TTABVUE 19. Respondent also points out that the assignment of the YOGASPARK mark to Spark Yoga is insufficient evidence to establish priority. 133 TTABVUE 19. Respondent argues that Ms. Porat’s testimony relating to the yogaspark.com website does not establish Petitioner’s priority and asserts that “Porat had no information or knowledge whether Reid had used any mark whatsoever prior to August 28, 2013, or if the mark was still in use at that time.” 133 TTABVUE 20; 133 TTABVUE 20-23. Respondent also notes that the provided excerpt of Ms. Porat’s deposition testimony did not include the website pages that Ms. Porat viewed. 133 TTABVUE 13. As alleged in the petition to cancel and argued, Petitioner’s priority claim is based on use of YOGASPARK on the www.yogaspark.com website, which is an assertion of priority based on use analogous to service mark use.13 See e.g., Giersch v. Scripps Networks Inc., 90 USPQ2d 1020, 1023 (TTAB 2009) (use analogous to trademark includes use in advertising brochures, trade publications, catalogs, newspaper advertisements and Internet websites which create a public awareness of the designation as a trademark identifying the party as a source). In order to demonstrate that use analogous to service mark use has given rise to proprietary rights, a party must show that such prior use was sufficient to create an association in the minds of the purchasing public between the mark and the services. Malcolm Nicol & Co. v. Witco Corp., 881 F.2d 1063, 11 USPQ2d 1638, 1639 (Fed. Cir. 13 Petitioner has alleged prominent display of the mark YOGASPARK on the www.yogaspark.com website. Petition to Cancel, ¶8, 1 TTABVUE. Cancellation No. 92064505 - 15 - 1989). The use must be more than mere advertising and must be shown to have a substantial impact on the purchasing public. T.A.B. Sys. v. PacTel Teletrac, 77 F.3d 1372, 37 USPQ2d 1879, 1882 (Fed. Cir. 1996); Westrex Corp. v. New Sensor Corp., 83 USPQ2d 1215, 1218 (TTAB 2007). That is, the use must be “sufficiently clear, widespread and repetitive to create the required association in the minds of the potential purchasers between the mark as an indicator of a particular source and the service to become available later.” T.A.B. Sys., 37 USPQ2d at 1882. As Respondent points out, “[a]n assignment without any evidence of use by the assignor will not prove priority because the assignment document alone is not proof of use.” Moke Am. LLC, 2020 USPQ2d 10400 at *8. Therefore, we consider whether Ms. Porat’s deposition testimony contains statements against Respondent’s interest, acknowledging Deb Reid’s prior use of YOGASPARK in connection with yoga-based instructional and training services prior to Respondent’s priority date. We note that Petitioner cannot rely on Ms. Porat’s testimony regarding the written statements made on the www.yogapark.com website to prove Deb Reid’s prior use as these statements are hearsay.14 See e.g., Chapman v. Universal Motown Records Grp., No. 08 Civ. 3255 (LAP), 2010 WL 517480 at *4-5 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 03, 2010) (plaintiff’s deposition testimony regarding written statements made by an employee of defendant on the employee’s personal website were hearsay and could not be used to prove the truth of those statements). 14 We note there may be multiple levels of hearsay to the extent that the website client testimonials are offered by Petitioner to prove the truth of what has been asserted by these individuals. Cancellation No. 92064505 - 16 - Although Ms. Porat’s testimony acknowledges the existence of Ms. Reid’s website in 2012 at the domain name address www.yogaspark.com, use by Deb Reid of a domain name as a website address does not support trademark or service mark use or use analogous to trademark or service mark use. There are no allegations, testimony or evidence that Deb Reid used yogaspark.com as a mark. In re Eilberg, 49 USPQ2d 1955, 1957 (TTAB 1998) (use of internet address on letterhead was not service mark use but merely indicated the location on the Internet where applicant's website appears). See Brookfield Commc’ns, Inc. v. West Coast Entm’t Corp., 174 F.3d 1036, 50 USPQ2d 1545, 1556 (9th Cir. 1999) (acquisition of a domain name cannot by itself establish priority of use). Therefore, Ms. Porat’s testimony as to searching on the Internet and accessing Reid’s website located at yogaspark.com does not establish Petitioner’s prior use of YOGASPARK. Ms. Porat’s testimony does acknowledge Ms. Reid’s use on her website of a YOGASPARK logo. 121 TTABVUE, confidential. However, Ms. Porat’s acknowledgement of use of the YOGASPARK logo on Deb Reid’s website is insufficient to show that the public would have been aware of YOGASPARK in any meaningful way. See T.A.B. Sys., 37 USPQ2d at 1882 (Fed. Cir. 1996) (activities engaged in must be clear, widespread and repetitive, sufficient to have established prior analogous trademark/service mark use and “purchaser perception must involve more than an insubstantial number of potential customers.”); Ricardo Media Inc. v. Inventive Software, LLC, 2019 USPQ2d 311355, at *3 (TTAB 2019) (no evidence introduced to show that United States consumers visited website to view digital Cancellation No. 92064505 - 17 - content bearing the mark). Moreover, Ms. Porat’s testimony indicates that she believed Ms. Reid was not “really actively using the YogaSpark name in any sense” and did not believe Ms. Reid “had a mark YogaSpark.” 121 TTABVUE, confidential. Lastly, Ms. Porat’s testimony does not tie any use of YOGASPARK by Ms. Reid with yoga-based instructional and training services. Aside from the hearsay references to Ms. Reid’s services as found on the website, Ms. Porat testified that the services Deb Reid provided were different from her services, involved different initial consumers and end-consumers, and were offered in different channels of trade. 121 TTABVUE, confidential. We find that Ms. Porat’s testimony does not provide statements against interest that establish Petitioner’s priority. As to the classpass.com website pages that list customer testimonials relating to classes offered by Respondent, Petitioner submitted this as evidence in support of its priority claim. Petitioner indicates in the amended notice of reliance that these web pages establish the normal business practices of Yoga studios. However, even if this evidence is relevant to show, for example, the marketing of yoga services, this evidence does not in any way establish Petitioner’s priority. Looking at the evidence as a whole, W. Fla. Seafood, 31 USPQ2d at 1663, we find that Petitioner did not prove that it used YOGASPARK through its predecessor-in- interest before Respondent’s priority date of August 28, 2013. Although we have found Petitioner to have established a statutory entitlement to bring a petition to cancel the subject registration, there are no admissions by Cancellation No. 92064505 - 18 - Respondent nor testimony or evidence in the record of Petitioner’s predecessor in interest’s prior use of YOGASPARK. Accordingly, Petitioner failed to prove a critical element of its likelihood of confusion claim, priority, and cannot prevail. Decision: The petition to cancel is denied. In view of the denial of the petition to cancel on the likelihood of confusion ground, Respondent is allowed until twenty days from the mailing date of this decision to indicate whether it still wishes to have its proposed restriction to the identification of services entered. Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation