H.H.H.: Heroes Helping Heroes, Inc.

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board

Jun 14, 2010

No. 77049193 (T.T.A.B. Jun. 14, 2010)

Mailed: June 14, 2010

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
________

Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
________

In re H.H.H.: Heroes Helping Heroes, Inc.
________

Serial No. 77049193
_______

Roberta Jacobs-Meadway of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott,
L.L.C. for H.H.H.: Heroes Helping Heroes, Inc.

Christopher L. Buongiorno, Trademark Examining Attorney,
Law Office 102 (Karen M. Strzyz, Managing Attorney).
_______

Before Hairston, Walsh and Taylor, Administrative Trademark
Judges.

Opinion by Taylor, Administrative Trademark Judge:

H.H.H.: Heroes Helping Heroes, Inc. has filed an
application to register on the Principal Register the mark
HELPING KIDS HELP THEMSELVES BY HELPING OTHERS (in standard
character form) for “non-profit after school development
programs for at-risk youth involving education, namely
tutoring for elementary school, middle school and high
school curriculum; programs featuring information about
college preparation and opportunities; career counseling;
teaching life skills through community outreach education
THIS DISPOSITION
IS NOT A PRECEDENT
OF THE TTAB
Serial No. 77049193
2
programs and conducting basketball practices and games for
at-risk youth” in Class 41.1 The examining attorney has
refused registration under Section 2(d) of the Trademark
Act, 15 U.S.C. §1052(d), on the ground that the mark is
confusingly similar to the marks in Registrations Nos.
3248664 and 3330800, owned by the same entity, set forth
below.
Registration No. 3248664

for the mark HELPING KIDS HELP THEMSELVES (in
standard character format) for “Printed
materials, namely, books, workbooks, posters,
handouts, and catalogs featuring books,
workbooks, posters and handouts, all in the
fields of self-esteem and self-awareness, stress
management, school success, creativity, friends
and family, conflict resolution, social skills,
social action and social responsibility,
leadership development and character education,
mental and physical health, and special needs;
printed educational, instructional and teaching
materials in the fields of self-esteem and self-
awareness, stress management, school success,
creativity, friends and family, conflict
resolution, social skills, social action and
social responsibility, leadership development and
character education, mental and physical health,
and special needs” in International Class 16; and

“Retail and wholesale mail order services and
online ordering services in the fields of
children's and young adult's books and printed
educational, instructional and teaching materials
in the fields of self-esteem and self-awareness,
stress management, school success, creativity,
friends and family, conflict resolution, social
skills, social action and social responsibility,

1 Application Serial No. 77049193 filed November 21, 2006 and
asserting a bona fide intention to use the mark in commerce.
Serial No. 77049193
3
leadership development and character education,
mental and physical health, and special needs” in
International Class 35.2

Registration No. 3330800

for the mark HELPING KIDS HELP THEMSELVES (in
standard character format) for “Prerecorded
compact discs featuring books that feature
information in the fields of self-esteem and
self-awareness, stress management, school
success, creativity, friends and family, conflict
resolution, social skills, social action and
social responsibility, leadership development and
character education, mental and physical health,
and special needs; electronic publications in the
nature of books, electronic books, and e-books,
all recorded on computer media, featuring
information in the fields of self-esteem and
self-awareness, stress management, school
success, creativity, friends and family, conflict
resolution, social skills, action and social
responsibility, leadership development and
character education, mental and physical health,
and special needs” in International Class 9.3

After the refusal was made final, applicant appealed
and requested reconsideration of the final refusal. On May
15, 2009, the examining attorney denied the request for
reconsideration and this appeal resumed on May 20, 2009.
Both applicant and the examining attorney filed briefs.
For the reasons discussed below, we affirm the refusal to
register.
Applicant maintains that its mark, despite the common
elements, creates a different commercial impression from

2 Issued May 29, 2007.
3 Issued November 6, 2007.
Serial No. 77049193
4
the mark of the cited registrations and that there is no
evidence to connect the respective goods and services,
trade channels or target customers in such a manner as to
make likely any assumption of common source or affiliation.
The examining attorney, on the other hand, contends
that applicant’s mark and the cited mark begin with the
identical wording HELPING KIDS HELP THEMSELVES and
therefore convey similar commercial impressions. He also
contends that the evidence of record demonstrates that the
respective goods and services are related, and that “the
circumstances surrounding their use will likely be
encountered by the same purchasers persons [sic] in
situations that would give rise to a mistaken belief that
they originate from or are in some way associated with the
same source.” Br., unnumbered p. 6.
Our determination of the issue of likelihood of
confusion is based on an analysis of all the probative
facts in evidence that are relevant to the factors set
forth in In re E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., 476 F.2d
1357, 177 USPQ 563 (CCPA 1973). See also, In re Majestic
Distilling Company, Inc., 315 F.3d 1311, 65 USPQ2d 1201
Fed. Cir. 2003). In any likelihood of confusion analysis,
two key considerations are the similarities between the
marks and the similarities between the goods and/or
Serial No. 77049193
5
services. See Federated Foods, Inc. v. Fort Howard Paper
Co., 544 F.2d 1098, 192 USPQ 24 (CCPA 1976).
We first consider the du Pont factors of relatedness
of the goods and services, trade channels and classes of
consumers. It is well settled that the question of
likelihood of confusion must be determined based on an
analysis of the services recited in applicant’s application
vis-à-vis the goods and services recited in the cited
registrations. Canadian Imperial Bank v. Wells Fargo Bank,
811 F.2d 1490, 1 USPQ2d 1783 (Fed. Cir. 1992); and The
Chicago Corp. v. North American Chicago Corp., 20 USPQ 2d
1715 (TTAB 1991). Further, it is a general rule that the
goods and services do not have to be identical or directly
competitive to support a finding that there is a likelihood
of confusion. It is sufficient if the respective goods and
services are related in some manner and/or that the
conditions surrounding their marketing are such that they
would be encountered by the same persons under
circumstances that could, because of the similarity of the
marks used in connection therewith, give rise to the
mistaken belief that they emanate from or are associated
with a single source. In re Albert Trostel & Sons Co., 29
USPQ2d 1783, 1785 (TTAB 1993); In re International
Telephone & Telegraph Corp., 197 USPQ 910, 911 (TTAB 1978).
Serial No. 77049193
6
Moreover, it is settled law that a likelihood of confusion
may result from the use by different parties of the same or
similar marks in connection with goods, on the one hand,
and services which deal with or are related to those goods,
on the other. Wet Seal Inc. v. FD Management Inc., 82
USPQ2d 1629, 1639-49 (TTAB 2007).
Applicant’s identified services are “non-profit after
school development programs for at-risk youth involving
education, namely, tutoring for elementary school, middle
school and high school curriculum; programs featuring
information about college preparation and opportunities;
career counseling; teaching life skills through community
outreach education programs and conducting basketball
practices and games for at-risk youth.” We read
applicant’s broadly worded identified services, i.e.,
“teaching life skills,” to encompass teaching self-esteem
and self-awareness, stress management, school success,
conflict resolution, social skills, social action and
social responsibility, leadership development and character
education – all subjects covered by registrant’s
publications and informational and teaching materials set
forth with particularity below.4

4 The term “life skills” is defined as “the ability to cope with
stresses and challenges of daily life, esp. skills in
Serial No. 77049193
7
Insofar as the cited registrations are concerned, we
note that cited Registration No. 3248664 includes both
goods and services. Because the goods identified therein
are more closely related to the services identified in
applicant’s application, we limit our discussion to the
goods, which are identified as follows: “Printed
materials, namely, books, workbooks, posters, handouts, and
catalogs featuring books, workbooks, posters and handouts,
all in the fields of self-esteem and self-awareness, stress
management, school success, creativity, friends and family,
conflict resolution, social skills, social action and
social responsibility, leadership development and character
education, mental and physical health, and special needs;
printed educational, instructional and teaching materials
in the fields of self-esteem and self-awareness, stress
management, school success, creativity, friends and family,

communication, literacy, decision-making, occupational
requirements, problem-solving, time management and planning.”
Retrieved on May 10, 2010 from Dictionary.com,
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/life+skills?r+66.
We take judicial notice of this definition; the Board may take
judicial notice of dictionary definitions including online
dictionaries which exist in printed format. See In re
CyberFinancial.Net Inc., 65 USPQ2d 17989)(TTAB 2002); University
of Notre Dame du Lac v. J.C. Gourmet Food Imports Co., Inc., 213
USPQ594 (TTAB 1982), aff’d, 703 F.2d 1372, 217 USPQ 505 (Fed.
Cir. 1983). See also Boston Red Sox Baseball Club LP v. Sherman,
88 USPQ2d 1581, 1590 n.8 (TTAB 2008) (The Board may take judicial
notice of online reference works which exist in printed format or
have regular fixed editions).

Serial No. 77049193
8
conflict resolution, social skills, social action and
social responsibility, leadership development and character
education, mental and physical health, and special needs.”5
Cited Registration No. 3330800 covers “[p]rerecorded
compact discs featuring books that feature information in
the fields of self-esteem and self-awareness, stress
management, school success, creativity, friends and family,
conflict resolution, social skills, social action and
social responsibility, leadership development and character
education, mental and physical health, and special needs;
electronic publications in the nature of books, electronic
books, and e-books, all recorded on computer media,
featuring information in the fields of self-esteem and
self-awareness, stress management, school success,
creativity, friends and family, conflict resolution, social
skills, action and social responsibility, leadership
development and character education, mental and physical
health, and special needs.”

5 We point out that likelihood of confusion may be found if
there is a likelihood of confusion between applicant’s services
and any of the goods [or services] in the cited registration.
Tuxedo Monopoly, Inc. v. General Mills Fun Group, 648 F.2d 1335,
209 USPQ 986, 988 (CCPA 1988). Accordingly, even if we had
considered the applicant’s arguments regarding registrant’s
retail and wholesale mail order services and online ordering
services, our decision would be the same.

Serial No. 77049193
9
Based on the identifications themselves, we find in
this case that applicant’s after-school programs,
particularly, its programs teaching life skills through
community outreach education programs are complementary in
purpose to registrant’s publications and educational and
instructional material featuring life skills, such as self-
esteem, social skills, stress management, school success,
conflict resolution and social responsibility. Further,
the curriculum for applicant’s life-skills teaching program
conceivably could be based upon or feature registrant’s
publications and educational, instructional and teaching
materials.
Moreover, the evidence submitted by the examining
attorney supports a finding that applicant’s services are
likely to be perceived by consumers as originating from the
same source as registrant’s goods. Specifically, the
examining attorney has made of record copies of printouts
from the USPTO X-search database of twenty (20) use-based,
third-party registrations6 for marks used in connection with
goods and services of the type identified in both the
application and cited registration, i.e., educational and
instructional programs and services vis-à-vis related

6 We note that two of these registrations are for the cited
marks.
Serial No. 77049193
10
educational and instructional materials.7 Third-party
registrations which individually cover a number of
different items and which are based on use in commerce
serve to suggest that the listed goods and/or services are
of a type which may emanate from a single source. In re
Albert Trostel & Sons Co., supra.
These registrations include, by way of example:
Registration No. 2613763 for, inter alia,
“educational services, namely conducting
programs, workshops, classes, conferences,
seminars and information exchanges in the
fields of auditory, speech, language, phonics,
reading, spelling, math, math concepts and math
languages” and “educational audio tapes and
educational video tapes for use in teaching in
auditory, speech, language, phonics, reading,
spelling and math, math concepts and math
languages”;

Registration No. 2691689 for “educational
computer programs and video and audio
recordings containing multimedia courses and
curricula for use in art instruction in schools
from k through 12 levels … [and] printed
educational materials containing courses and
curricula for use in art instruction in schools
from k through 12 levels” and “education and
entertainment services, namely, providing
courses and curricula for use in art
instruction in schools from k through 12 levels
through television programs and via a global
computer network”;

7 While the registrations are for educational and instructional
services and materials in a variety of disciplines, they
nonetheless tend to support the relatedness of registrant’s and
applicant’s respective goods and services, because they show that
various types of educational programs and services and related
materials often emanate from a common source.

Serial No. 77049193
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Registration No. 3343284 for “printed
instructional materials, educational, teaching
and training materials, manuals and newsletters
in the fields of reading, writing, conflict
resolution, appreciating cultural diversity,
social awareness, and countering bias” and
“educational services, namely, conducting
programs, classes, seminars, conferences, after
school programs and workshops in the fields of
reading, writing, conflict resolution,
appreciating cultural diversity, social
awareness, and countering bias and distributing
course materials and training materials in
connections therewith”;

Registration No. 3270271 for “printed
instructional, educational, and teaching
materials in the field of promoting informed
and healthy sexual decision-making among young
people” and “educational services, namely
conducting programs in the field of promoting
informed and healthy sexual decision-making
among young people”;

Registration No. 3250980 for, inter alia,
“educational services, namely, conducting
programs and managing and improving student
study skills and distributing course materials
in connection therewith …” and “printed
educational program system comprised of printed
instructional, educational, and teaching
materials for managing and improving student
study skills comprising tabbed workbooks,
manuals, scheduling guides, subject work
sheets, instructions for improving note taking
and learning skills, goal monitoring and grade
record keeping forms, and parent instruction
and guidebooks for students in elementary,
middle, high school and college, all sold
together as a unit or separately as refills”;
and

Registration No. 3205936 for “printed
instructional, educational, and teaching
materials in the field of physical fitness and
health” and “educational services, namely,
conducting programs for children and young
Serial No. 77049193
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adults in the field of physical fitness and
health.”

In reaching our decision with respect to the
relatedness of the goods and services, we have not relied
on the evidence submitted by the examining attorney
consisting of web pages from applicant’s and the
registrant’s websites as well as from
www.schoolagenotes.com, and two news stories from the
LexisNexis® database, purportedly showing that applicant’s
services and registrant’s goods are the type of educational
services/materials commonly marketed to the same classes of
purchasers. We do not find this information particularly
probative because it does not appear from a review of these
web pages that applicant, registrant or School-Age NOTES
provide both educational service and materials. As such,
it is unclear from this evidence whether the targeted
consumer for the services provides by applicant and the
goods provided by registrant and School-Age NOTES is the
same. In addition, while the news stories discuss
partnerships between after school programs and reading
programs, we cannot discern whether both the after school
programs and the reading materials are provided by a single
entity.
Serial No. 77049193
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Nevertheless, based on the goods and services as
identified in the application and cited registrations, as
well as the third-party registrations, and the legal
principles set forth above, we find that applicant’s after
school programs teaching life skills through community
outreach education programs and registrant’s publications
and educational and instructional materials in the fields
of, inter alia, stress management, self-esteem, conflict
resolution and social skills are sufficiently related goods
and services in the life skills arena that, when provided
under substantially similar marks, prospective consumers
are likely to believe that they come from the same source.
Moreover, in the absence of any limitations in the
application and the cited registrations as to channels of
trade and classes of purchasers, we must presume that
applicant’s after school programs for at-risk children
involving education and registrant’s publications and
educational and instructional materials travel in all the
usual trade channels for such goods and services, and to
all usual classes of consumers for such goods and services,
including ordinary consumers seeking instruction and
information in the life skills arena. See In re Elbaum,
211 USPQ 639, 640 (TTAB 1981). We also note that the web
pages from applicant’s and registrant’s websites reveal
Serial No. 77049193
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that both applicant and the cited registrant market their
respective services and goods via the internet.
We thus find that, at a minimum, the channels of trade
and the classes of consumers overlap.
We are not persuaded by applicant’s arguments that the
respective goods and services are unrelated because the
cited registrant is a publisher, who publishes books and
sells those books by way of wholesale and retail online and
catalog sales, and not a provider of educational classes or
programs to children, and applicant runs an after-school
program for at-risk youth and does not publish books or any
printed material or other educational material (or provide
retail or wholesale services) under its mark. As stated,
the test is not whether the goods and services are the
same; it is whether they are sufficiently similar or
related that prospective consumers would expect them to
emanate from a common source. See Albert Trostel & Sons
Co., supra.
We also find unconvincing applicant’s assertion that
the trade channels and targeted consumers are not related
because the registrant targets its goods to educators and
teachers through retail and wholesale services, while
applicant is a non-profit organization that targets its
services to at-risk youth. There are no such restrictions
Serial No. 77049193
15
as to channels of trade or classes of purchasers in the
identifications of the goods in the cited registrations.
See In re Bercut-Vandervoort & Co., 229 USPQ 763, 764 (TTAB
1986) (An applicant may not restrict the scope of the goods
covered in the cited registration by argument or extrinsic
evidence.).
For the reasons discussed above, we find that the du
Pont factors of the relatedness of the goods and services,
channels of trade and classes of consumers favor a finding
of likelihood of confusion.
We next consider the du Pont factor of similarity or
dissimilarity of the marks. As pointed out by applicant,
we must consider the marks in their entireties in terms of
appearance, sound, connotation and commercial impression.
See E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., supra. See also Palm
Bay Imports, Inc. v. Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, 396 F.3d
1369, 73 USPQ2d 1689 (Fed. Cir. 2005). However, the test
under this du Pont factor is not whether the marks can be
distinguished when subjected to a side-by-side comparison,
but rather whether the marks are sufficiently similar in
terms of their overall commercial impression that confusion
as to the source of the goods and services offered under
the respective marks is likely to result. Furthermore, the
focus is on the recollection of the average purchaser, who
Serial No. 77049193
16
normally retains a general rather than a specific
impression of trademarks. See Sealed Air Corp. v. Scott
Paper Co., 190 USPQ 106 (TTAB 1975).
Here, when applicant’s mark HELPING KIDS HELP
THEMSELVES BY HELPING OTHERS and the cited registered mark
HELPING KIDS HELP THEMSELVES are considered in their
entireties, we find that they are similar in sound,
appearance, meaning and commercial impression, and that the
overall similarities outweigh their difference. The phase
HELPING KIDS HELP THEMSELVES, common to both marks, is
registrant’s entire mark and is aurally and visually a
significant part of applicant’s mark. Although, as
applicant points out, its mark contains the additional
wording BY HELPING OTHERS, the common portion of its mark
HELPING KIDS HELP THEMSELVES is identical in sound and
appearance to the cited mark and is the first and the
dominant component of applicant’s mark. See Presto
Products, Inc. v. Nice-Pak Products Inc., 9 USPQ2d 1895,
1897 (TTAB 1988)(“…[it is] a matter of some importance
since it is often the first part of a mark which is most
likely to be impressed upon the mind of a purchaser and
remembered.”). That is, given the syntax and structure of
applicant’s mark, the additional wording BY HELPING OTHERS
fails to distinguish the marks because it is subordinate to
Serial No. 77049193
17
and merely refers back to and clarifies the HELPING KIDS
HELP THEMSELVES portion of the mark.
As regards connotation and commercial impression,
applicant contends that the cited mark coveys a message that
the particular goods are designed to help the user and are
purchased for selfish reasons. Its mark, on the other hand,
applicant contends, conveys a message of “helping others.”
While consumers may recognize slight differences in
connotation between the marks due to the additional matter in
applicant’s mark, they will most likely perceive such matter
as merely explaining how applicant’s services will benefit
the user. Ultimately, both applicant’s mark and the cited
mark convey the message that the goods and services provided
thereunder foster “self-help.”
In sum, while clearly there are differences between
the marks when viewed on the basis of a side-by-side
comparison, we nonetheless find that when viewed as a
whole, applicant’s mark is substantially similar to the
cited registered mark in appearance, sound, connotation and
commercial impression.
In coming to this determination, we have considered
applicant’s argument that cited mark is weak and not
entitled to broad protection; the common elements being so
weak that the “material” added to applicant’s mark “is
Serial No. 77049193
18
sufficient to differentiate it from the mark in the Cited
registrations….” Br., p. 7. In support of its position,
applicant made of record copies from the TARR database of
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) of third-party
registrations for marks containing the terms “Helping
Kids,” or the “general formula” of “Helping _____ Help
Themselves.” We find these examples of limited probative
value. While third-party registrations may be used to
demonstrate that a portion of a mark is suggestive or
descriptive, they are not evidence that the marks shown
therein are in use or that the public is aware of them.
See AMF Incorporated v. American Leisure Products, Inc.,
177 USPQ 268, 269 (CCPA 1973)[“little weight is to be given
such registrations in evaluating whether there is
likelihood of confusion.”]. Moreover, the marks in the
seven registrations including the term “helping kids”
(i.e., WINGS HELPING KIDS SOAR [and design] (Registration
No. 3483976), HELPING KIDS WIN (Registration No. 2678592),
KIDS HELPING KIDS (Registration No. 2528905), HELPING KIDS
GET SMART ABOUT MONEY (Registration No. 3397289), HELPING
KIDS BLOOM (Registration No. 3120598), KIDS HELPING KIDS
(Registration NO. 3460740), and KIDS HELPING KIDS
(Registration No. 2464779), are not as similar to the cited
mark as is applicant’s mark. Moreover, several
Serial No. 77049193
19
registrations, i.e., Registration No. 2678592 for “online
information services, namely providing instructional
information concerning athletics over a global
communications network,” Registration No. 3120598 for
“charitable fundraising services, namely sharing profits
from floral product sales with not-for-profit organizations
to benefit children,” and Registration No. 3460740 for
“men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, namely …,” cover
goods and services that are different in nature from the
“life skills” themed goods and services identified in the
cited registration and applicant’s application.
Further, with regard to the third-party registrations
for marks including the general formula of “Helping ____
Help Themselves,” (i.e., HELPING SENIORS HELP THEMSELVES
(Registration No. 2335911), HELPING OTHERS HELP THEMSELVES
(Registration No. 3559889), HELPING PEOPLE HELP THEMSELVES
(Registration No. 2268193), ENRICHMENT SEMINARS HELPING
PEOPLE HELP THEMSELVES (Registration No. 1760336), THE
LUDACRIS FOUNDATION HELPING YOUTH HELP THEMSELVES [and
design] (Registration No. 3386200), HELPING CHARITIES HELP
THEMSELVES (Registration No. 2984915), HELPING PEOPLE HELP
THEMSELVES (Registration No. 3293404), HELPING PEOPLE HELP
THEMSELVES (Registration No. 3046599), and HELPING WOMEN
HELP THEMSELVES (Registration No. 2918392), they, too, are
Serial No. 77049193
20
for marks that are not as similar as the marks at issue
here. Specifically, unlike in applicant’s mark - where
each term in the phrase is identical to the cited
registration - each of the third-party marks contains a
distinct term in the HELPING ___ HELP THEMSELVES “general
formula.”
Last, applicant made of record internet evidence
showing (1) third-party use of the phrase “Helping Kids
Help Themselves” as the title of a book and two news
articles; and (2) third-party use of the Helping ___ Help
Themselves “general formula,” primarily as book and article
titles. Again, this evidence is of little value. This is
so not only because of the limited third-party use, i.e.,
approximately 33 instances, but also because applicant has
presented no evidence concerning the extent to which these
third-party designations are used in commerce or the
public’s familiarity with them. See Sports Authority
Michigan, Inc. v. PC Authority Inc, 63 USPQ2d 1782 (TTAB
2001). For example, it is not known how frequently the
websites are viewed or how broad the consumer base is for
the books and articles. While the Board has, in likelihood
of confusion cases, given weight to evidence of widespread
and significant use by third parties of marks containing
elements in common with the involved marks to demonstrate
Serial No. 77049193
21
that confusion is not likely to occur8, the record simply
does not establish that “HELPING KIDS HELP THEMSELVES” or
the formula “HELPING ____ HELP THEMSELVES” has been diluted
in the educational, instructional and teaching materials
field. See Broadway Chicken Inc., 38 USPQ2d 1559 (TTAB
1996) (Broadway weak for restaurant services based on
evidence that hundreds of restaurants and eating
establishments use that word.) We thus find that
applicant’s evidence does not establish that there is
widespread use of similar marks for educational,
instructional and teaching materials such that the
registered mark is weak.
Despite this evidentiary failure, the record reflects
that entities have chosen marks consisting of “Helping/Help”
along with the name of the thing/individual(s) to be helped,
e.g., charities, women, youth, to convey the idea of “self-
help.” As such, it is apparent that the “HELP/HELPING”
formulary is somewhat suggestive, and therefore registrant’s
HELPING KIDS HELP THEMSELVES mark is not entitled to the
broadest scope of protection. However, notwithstanding any
weakness, registrant’s mark is at least entitled to
protection from registration of applicant’s very similar mark

8 See e.g., Miles Laboratories Inc. v. Naturally Vitamin
Supplements Inc., 1 USPQ2d 1445, 1462 (TTAB 1987).
Serial No. 77049193
22
for closely related services. See In re Colonial Stores,
Inc., 216 USPQ 793 (TTAB 1992). See also King Candy Co. v.
Eunice King’s Kitchen, Inc., 496 F.2d 1400, 182 USPQ 108, 109
(CCPA 1974) (likelihood of confusion is to be avoided as much
between weak marks as between strong marks). Indeed, the
marks are so similar in this case that purchasers of
publications and educational and teaching materials in the
“self-help” field who are familiar with registrant’s mark may
view applicant’s mark as a variant thereof, and that such
mark identifies a new service sponsored by or approved by
registrant.
For these reasons, the du Pont factor of similarity of
the marks favors a finding of likelihood of confusion.
Having considered all of applicant’s arguments,
including those not addressed here, we conclude that
purchasers familiar with registrant’s printed materials,
namely, books, workbooks, posters, handouts, and catalogs
featuring books, workbooks, posters and handouts;
prerecorded compact discs featuring books; and electronic
publications in the nature of books, electronic books, and
e-books, all recorded on computer media - all featuring
information in the fields of self-esteem and self-
awareness, stress management, school success, creativity,
friends and family, conflict resolution, social skills,
Serial No. 77049193
23
social action and social responsibility, leadership
development and character education, mental and physical
health, and special needs under the mark HELPING KIDS HELP
THEMSELVES would be likely to believe, upon encountering
applicant’s mark HELPING KIDS HELP THEMSELVES BY HELPING
OTHERS for non-profit after school development programs for
at-risk youth involving education, namely tutoring for
elementary school, middle school and high school
curriculum; programs featuring information about college
preparation and opportunities; career counseling; teaching
life skills through community outreach education programs
and conducting basketball practices and games for at-risk
youth, that the goods and services originate from or are
associated with or sponsored by the same source.

Decision: The refusal to register under Section 2(d)
of the Trademark Act is affirmed.