Phonetic variations are words that sound-alike creating the possibility of confusion between the two words (for example ‘UREKA’ and ‘EUREKA’). Phonetic equivalents are important because they indicate how an existing mark may be perceived by a consumer as, too similar to your proposed mark. If phonetically equivalent marks exist in the same industry there is a strong possibility of consumer confusion and the proposed mark may be rejected. Thus, it is important for businesses to search phonetic variations of their word or mark that they are going to use.
