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Trademark dispute by Dr Dre against Dr Drai the gynaecologist dismissed

♬ And motherdoctors act like they forgot about Dre ♬

A long-running trademark dispute between rapper Dr Dre and Dr Drai, gynaecologist and author of 20 Things You May Not Know About A Vagina, has been dismissed by the the US trademark office.

The case was lodged in 2015 after Pennsylvania-based gynaecologist Draion M Burch attempted to trademark the name Dr Drai. But the original Dr Dre objected over the likelihood of confusion and false suggestion of a connection.

"The issue is not whether purchasers would confuse the goods or services but whether there is a likelihood of confusion as to the source of the goods or services," said the US trademark office.

Dr Dre had argued that Drai's educational and entertainment services, particularly his motivational and educational speaking, would lead consumers to perceive that they were related to his musical composition and production services "due to the entertainment nature of both types of services".

He said confusion is likely because the remaining goods and services "are offered in non-medical settings to the general public".

However, Dr Drai argued that the names DRE and DRAI are shortened versions of the parties' dissimilar first names, Draion and Andre, and are spelled differently.

"It is not likely that consumers will recognize Applicant's Dr. Drai's marks as referring to Dr. Dre because Dr. Dre is not a medical doctor nor is he qualified to provide any type of medical services or sell products specifically in the medical or healthcare industry," argued Drai.

After considering the arguments, the trademark office said it was unlikely that people would be misled into buying Drai's products. ®

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