WASHINGTON — Playboy Enterprises International Inc. can’t register the term “Centerfold” because of an existing “Swimsuit Centerfold” trademark for online services, according to a ruling made Friday by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Playboy, in its appeal, had argued that consumers wouldn’t confuse its mark because of an earlier one registered in 2016 for a reality TV series. “Swimsuit Centerfold,” the TV series, follows contestants through adventures, thrills and drama in a beauty competition.
Playboy applied in 2016 to register “Centerfold” as a trademark for website services.
But an examining attorney at the Trademark Office rejected the application by citing the earlier “Swimsuit" registration, which Swimsuit Centerfold LLC registered in early 2016.
On Friday, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board affirmed a previous ruling and denied Playboy’s contention that it should receive trademark for “Centerfold” because it holds marks for numerous other “Centerfold” marks in other classifications other than for online services.
In its ruling, the board said, “We find the involved marks, Centerfold and Swimsuit Centerfold, are overall very similar … and likely to cause confusion, mistake, or deception of relevant consumers.”
“We disagree with [Playboy’s] assertion that [Swimsuit Centerfold’s] registrant’s mark ‘evokes a different commercial impression than [Playboy’s] mark because it calls to mind clothing or a garment,” the board said. “The term ‘centerfold,’ as defined, includes nude or scantily clad models.
"A model in a swimsuit could fall into the ‘scantily clad’ realm. Thus, the fact that one mark simply suggests a centerfold model and the other a centerfold model in a swimsuit does not adequately distinguish the marks’ overall commercial impressions and connotations."
Further, the board noted that it found no strong association between “Playboy” and “Centerfold” despite what the company says its “unapologetic portrayal of nudity to the online arena, among others … cement the association of Playboy with Centerfold and with nudity in the minds of consumer.”
Playboy can appeal Friday’s ruling to a federal court.
