Opinion ID: 767485
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Distinctive or Famous

Text: 34 Under the new Act, we must first determine whether sporty's is a distinctive or famous mark and thus entitled to the ACPA's protection. See 15 U.S.C. 1125(d)(1)(A)(ii)(I), (II). The district court concluded that sporty's is both distinctive and famous. We agree that sporty's is a distinctive mark. As a result, and without casting any doubt on the district court's holding in this respect, we need not, and hence do not, decide whether sporty's is also a famous mark. 10 35 Distinctiveness refers to inherent qualities of a mark and is a completely different concept from fame. A mark may be distinctive before it has been used - when its fame is nonexistent. By the same token, even a famous mark may be so ordinary, or descriptive as to be notable for its lack of distinctiveness. See Nabisco, Inc. v. PF Brands, Inc., 191 F.3d 208, 215-26 (2d Cir. 1999). We have no doubt that sporty's, as used in connection with Sportsman's catalogue of merchandise and advertising, is inherently distinctive. Furthermore, Sportsman's filed an affidavit under 15 U.S.C. 1065 that rendered its registration of the sporty's mark incontestable, which entitles Sportsman's to a presumption that its registered trademark is inherently distinctive. Equine Techs., Inc. v. Equitechnology, Inc., 68 F.3d 542, 545 (1st Cir. 1995). We therefore conclude that, for the purposes of 1125(d)(1)(A)(ii)(I), the sporty's mark is distinctive. 36