Rap or Pap? Dr. Dre Loses Trademark Battle With Dr. Drai, A Gynecologist
from the still-drai dept
I trust that readers of this site young and old will be familiar with Dr. Dre. The wildly famous rapper has made hit records, produced some of the biggest names in hip hop, been a mogul in the music hardware space with his headphone line, and performed countless pelvic exams on women throughout the American northeast.
Wait, that last part can't be right. Surely I was legitimately confused by the existence of Dr. Drai, an OB/GYN in Pennsylvania who dared attempt to get a trademark on his name for his doctor-ly practice. It seems that Dr. Dre has been locked in a trademark opposition with Dr. Drai going on three years, arguing that the absurd example of faked confusion above is actually likely to happen for real.
Dr. Drai, a Pennsylvania-based gynecologist filed in 2015 to trademark his name and “Doctor Drai OBGYN & Media Personality." Dr. Dre tried to pump the brakes on that application, claiming it would cause confusion in the marketplace ... since their names sound alike.
The gyno was born Draion M. Burch, but according to his application he's been going by Dr. Drai for years. He's authored books and makes public appearances using it.
Dre's opposition is obviously, and hilariously, without merit. The whole point of trademark law is to keep the public from being confused as to the source of goods and services. Because of that, trademarks are valid only for given markets. Dr. Dre has a perfectly valid trademark case to make in the realm of music and entertainment. He has zero case to make in the realm of medical practices, no matter what stage name he chose to take all those years ago. In short, no woman is scheduling a visit with a gynecologist under the impression that the D.R.E. would be the one performing it.
The trademark office, of course, agreed.
The trademark office agreed with the medical doc, saying although the gangsta doc was well known ... there wasn't enough evidence people would be confused. Let's be honest ... no one's downloading "The Chronic" from a gyno. Although, sounds like there should be a shot for that.
Point being ... the case was dismissed.
Don't worry, Dre. We still won't forget about you.
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Filed Under: dr. drai, dr. dre, gynecology, likelihood of confusion, music, trademark, uspto
Reader Comments
The First Word
“Timothy Geigner had better "check his privilege" before the "me too" movement starts demanding his head on a platter.
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Not to confuse exams with "exams". Oh wait, Dr. Dre actually has a point? /derp
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That mental association isn't going away anytime soon
So 'Doctor' Dre is regularly confused as a gynecologist, to the point that he even felt the need to go legal to prevent the problem from getting even worse. Got it.
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Who let Dre out of my basement?
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Re: That mental association isn't going away anytime soon
This story would have been so much better had the trademark office asked the Pennsylvania State Board of Medicine which one should be called 'Doctor'.
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A more fortunate choice than his name and "The Cocky Gynecologist."
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Timothy Geigner had better "check his privilege" before the "me too" movement starts demanding his head on a platter.
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Also, I'll take the words of George Carlin over a random AC. To paraphrase, 'anything can be turned into a joke, it just depends on where the exaggeration is.'
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For the record, as a woman who is somewhat supportive of the #MeToo movement I find Mr. Geigner's comments amusing.
Great article, Tim. :)
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The Last Word
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