In re N.A.D., Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
754 F.2d 996 (1985)
N.A.D., Inc. (N.A.D.) sought to register NARKOMED for its anesthesia machines. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) denied registration because Narco Scientific, Inc. (Narco Inc.) already held registrations for NARCO MEDICAL SERVICES and NARCO, the latter covering an anesthesia machine — even though N.A.D. and Narco Inc. had signed a consent agreement acknowledging N.A.D.'s right to use NARKOMED. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (the Board) affirmed the PTO's denial on likelihood-of-confusion grounds, and N.A.D. appealed.
Whether the prior existence of a similar mark precludes registration of a mark as a trademark where there is no likelihood of consumer confusion.