Similarity in sound is one factor in determining whether the marks are confusingly similar. See In re E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., 476 F.2d 1357, 1361 (C.C.P.A. 1973) ; In re White Swan, Ltd., Ser. No. 73617169, 1988 TTAB LEXIS 37, at *3 (1988) . For purposes of the §2(d) analysis, there is no correct pronunciation of a mark because it is impossible to predict how the public will pronounce a particular mark; therefore, correct pronunciation cannot be relied on to avoid a likelihood of confusion. See, e.g., In re Viterra Inc., 671 F.3d 1358, 1367 (Fed. Cir. 2012) (upholding the Board’s affirmance of a Section 2(d) refusal to register XCEED for agricultural seed based on a likelihood of confusion with the registered mark X-SEED and design, SEED disclaimed, for identical goods, finding the marks could be pronounced the same); In re Belgrade Shoe Co., 411 F.2d 1352, 1353 (C.C.P.A. 1969) (upholding the Board's affirmance of a Section 2(d) refusal to register COL-"EEJUNS" and COLLEGIENNE, for legally identical goods in part, finding the marks could be pronounced the same); Centraz Indus. Inc. v. Spartan Chem. Co. Inc., Opp. No. 91159335, 2006 TTAB LEXIS 20, at *10 (2006) (acknowledging that "there is no correct pronunciation of a trademark" and finding ISHINE (stylized) and ICE SHINE, both for floor finishing preparations, confusingly similar); In re Lamson Oil Co., Ser. No. 73600158, 1987 TTAB LEXIS 34, at *3 n.3 (1987) ("[C]orrect pronunciation as desired by the applicant cannot be relied upon to avoid a likelihood of confusion."); Kabushiki Kaisha Hattori Tokeiten v. Scuotto, Opp. No. 91065571, 1985 TTAB LEXIS 93 (1985) (holding SEYCOS and design for watches, and SEIKO for watches and clocks, likely to cause confusion); In re Great Lakes Canning, Inc., Ser. No. 73365360, 1985 TTAB LEXIS 75 (1985) (holding CAYNA (stylized) for soft drinks, and CANA for, inter alia, canned and frozen fruit and vegetable juices, likely to cause confusion); In re Energy Telecomms. & Elec. Ass’n, 1983 TTAB LEXIS 233 (1983) (holding ENTELEC and design for association services relating to telecommunications and other electrical control systems for use in the energy related industries, and INTELECT for promoting, planning, and conducting expositions and exhibitions for the electrical industry, likely to cause confusion); In re Cresco Mfg. Co., 1963 TTAB LEXIS 84 (1963) (holding CRESCO and design for leather jackets, and KRESSCO for hosiery, likely to cause confusion).

The principle that there is no correct pronunciation of a mark applies "with greater force" when one of the marks is a coined term without a specific meaning. In re Jimenez, Ser. No. 97551823, 2025 TTAB LEXIS 441, at *13-14 (2025); see, e.g., Inter Ikea Sys. B.V. v. Akea, LLC, Opp. No. 91196527, 2014 TTAB LEXIS 166, at *19-20 (2014) (finding IKEA and AKEA "are coined terms that look alike and sound alike" with "no apparent meaning in any language"); Interlego AG v. Abrams/Gentile Ent. Inc., Ser. No. 75011293, 2002 TTAB LEXIS 200, at *4-5 (2002) (finding LEGO and MEGO differ in only one letter and could be pronounced similarly as "leg" and "meg" followed by a long "o" sound, as "there is no correct pronunciation of a trademark"); In re Energy Telecomms. & Elec. Ass’n, 1983 TTAB LEXIS 233, at *2-3 (1983) (finding ENTELEC and INTELECT "similar in appearance and substantially identical in pronunciation"); U.S. Min. Prods. Co. v. GAF Corp., 1977 TTAB LEXIS 167, at *19-20 (1977) (finding AFCO and CAFCO differ only as to the letter "C" and are "substantially similar in appearance and sound"); In re Cresco Mfg. Co., 1963 TTAB LEXIS 84, at *2 (1963) ("The terms "CRESCO" and "KRESSCO" are phonetically indistinguishable; both terms are obviously derived from their respective corporate names and they are equally arbitrary in nature as applied to the products to which they are applied."); Chas. Pfizer & Co. v. R. J. Moran Co., 1960 TTAB LEXIS 105, at *4 (1960) (finding DIABINESE and DIABLAISE "when spoken are substantially similar in sound" because there is no correct pronunciation of a mark where the marks are "coined marks having no specific meaning and no established pronunciation").