Opinion ID: 4019039
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Similarity of retail outlets and customers

Text: The fourth factor takes into consideration where, how, and to whom the parties’ products are sold. See Frehling Enters., 192 F.3d at 1339. Dissimilarities between the manner of sale and the typical customers of the parties’ services lessen the possibility of confusion. Id. Direct competition between the parties is not 34 Case: 15-11509 Date Filed: 07/26/2016 Page: 35 of 50 required for this factor to weigh in favor of a likelihood of confusion. Id. That is, the parties’ outlets and customer bases need not be identical, but some degree of overlap should be present for this factor to support a finding of likelihood of confusion. Id. The district court found that there were significant differences in the students looking to attend the two schools because: most FNU students are seeking associate’s degrees or ESL programs that FIU doesn’t provide; FIU targets students who are directly out of high school and seeking a four-year degree, whereas most FNU students have been out of high school for an average of ten years; and, unlike FIU, FNU doesn’t require students to submit standardized test scores prior to admission. However, the court also noted that both schools offer identical bachelor’s and master’s degrees as well as online courses and, therefore, they have some potential overlap in prospective students. In light of these competing considerations, the court found that this factor weighed in favor of finding a likelihood of confusion, but did not merit much weight in the overall analysis. FIU says that the district court erred in discounting the significance of this factor because there is significant overlap in the two schools’ potential students and their campuses are “virtually identical.” First, it seems plain to us that there simply isn’t much of an overlap in the two schools’ potential student bodies. It is undisputed that nearly 50% of FNU’s 35 Case: 15-11509 Date Filed: 07/26/2016 Page: 36 of 50 students are enrolled in an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science Program -- a type of degree that FIU does not even offer. And over 21% of FNU’s students are enrolled in a developmental program for ESL. While FIU says that it, too, offers ESL programs, its programs are intended only for students “seeking to enter college or professional schools” -- a distinction the district court found meaningful. To be sure, both schools offer overlapping bachelor’s and master’s degrees. But 90% of FIU’s bachelor’s degree candidates matriculate straight from South Florida high schools, whereas most of FNU’s students have been out of high school for a decade on average. Moreover, while FIU generally offers a “traditional” four-year college experience for recent graduates, which includes living on campus, almost all of FNU’s students commute to class at night after work. In short, the district court reasonably found that the two schools do not “cater to the same general kinds of individuals.” Safeway Stores, 675 F.2d at 1166. We also see little resemblance in the “retail outlets” of the two schools, i.e., the campuses and websites where students can take classes. FIU has two major campuses in South Florida: the Modesto A. Maidique Campus in west MiamiDade County and the Biscayne Bay Campus in North Miami Beach. FIU has described the Maidique Campus as a “342-acre metropolis” containing residential halls, an eight-story library, a nature preserve, an athletic stadium, and an art museum. FNU also has two main campuses in South Florida, each consisting of a 36 Case: 15-11509 Date Filed: 07/26/2016 Page: 37 of 50 single building: the “Hialeah Campus” in Hialeah, and the smaller “South Campus,” which is located approximately two miles from FIU’s Maidique Campus. FNU’s single-building campuses do not offer any on-campus housing for students. Considering these striking differences in the two schools’ campuses, the district court reasonably concluded that potential students were unlikely to confuse an FNU single-building campus for an FIU “metropolis.” It’s also true that the two schools offer online courses, but they each do so through their own website, which “would dispel rather than cause confusion . . . because the websites are separate and distinct, suggesting two completely unrelated [] entities.” Tana, 611 F.3d at 778. Considering these differences, we can find no clear error in the district court’s decision to discount the weight of this factor.