Sometimes a trademark with a rhyming or other sound pattern can encourage people encountering the mark to perceive the mark as a unitary whole with a commerical impression separate and distinct from the individual words. See, e.g., In re Kraft, Inc., 1983 WL 51972, at *2 (TTAB 1983) (finding LIGHT N' LIVELY to be a unitary term not subject to disclaimer because the mark “as a whole has a suggestive significance which is distinctly different from the merely descriptive significance of the term ‘LIGHT' per se,” which is “lost in the mark as a whole”). But a rhyming pattern in and of itself does not render a mark unitary. 

In Bass Assassin Lures, Inc. v. Flashin Assassin Fishing Lures, L.L.C., Cancellation No. 92085824 (TTAB July 10, 2026), the Board granted a petition for cancellation of a registration for the mark FLASHIN' ASSASSIN for fishing lures because there was a likelihood of confusion with the registered mark ASSASSIN for fishing lures, notwithstanding the rhyming qualities of FLASHIN' ASSASSIN. 

Flashin Assassin argued that its use of FLASHIN' “indicates that the lures flash in cases where the sun can hit them when in use”; that FLASHIN' ASSASSIN was so named because of the flash that may result from the material used (such as mylar or tinsel), and that FLASHIN' was chosen for its rhyming with ASSASSIN. 

The Board noted that while the presence of FLASHIN' may reduce the visual similarities of the marks in a side-by-side comparison or help to differentiate the parties' marks in sound when fully articulated, the addition of FLASHIN' to ASSASSIN did not necessarily preclude likelihood of confusion. See In re Charger Ventures LLC, 64 F.4th 1375, 1382 (Fed. Cir. 2023) (“an additional word or component may technically differentiate a mark but do little to alleviate confusion”); see also In re Detroit Athletic Co., 903 F.3d 1297, 1304-5 (Fed. Cir. 2018); Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Packard Press, Inc., 281 F.3d 1261, 1266 (Fed. Cir. 2002) (similar commercial impression even though applicant's mark PACKARD TECHNOLOGIES, with “TECHNOLOGIES” disclaimed, does not incorporate every feature of opposer's HEWLETT PACKARD marks); Double Coin Holdings, 2019 WL 4877349, at *8 (“likelihood of confusion often has been found where the entirety of one mark is incorporated within another.”) (quoting Hunter Indus., Inc. v. Toro Co., No. 91203612, 2014 WL 1649332, at *11 (TTAB 2014)). 

... FLASHIN', although somewhat rhyming with ASSASSIN, is a descriptive or at least highly suggestive term as indicated in the noted dictionary definition and Respondent's witness testimony. FLASHIN' is less significant in creating the connotation and commercial impression of Respondent's mark and has little, if any, source-identifying significance. See, e.g., Cunningham v. Laser Golf Corp., 222 F.3d 943, 947 (Fed. Cir. 2000) (“Regarding descriptive terms, this court has noted that the ‘descriptive component of a mark may be given little weight in reaching a conclusion on the likelihood of confusion.”') (quoting In re Nat'l Data Corp., 753 F.2d 1056, 1060 (Fed. Cir. 1985)). 
     Despite any rhyming qualities FLASHIN' ASSASSIN might have, it does not impart a separate and distinct overall commercial impression. There is nothing of record that supports the conclusion that the rhyming quality imparts a new or different meaning to ASSASSIN or that FLASHIN' does not retain its descriptive significance in relation to Respondent's goods.

Neither the mark's imperfect rhyme nor the descriptive meaning of "flashin'" was enough to change the meaning or commercial impression of ASSASSIN. Because the marks share the word ASSASSIN, the Board concluded that similarities between the marks in terms of appearance, sound, connotation and commercial impression, weighed in favor of finding a likelihood of confusion. 

Furthermore, the legal identity of the parties' goods weighed heavily in favor of finding a likelihood of confusion. 

Thus, the Board concluded that confusion was likely in view of the parties' respective marks and their relevant goods, and granted the petition to cancel.