Everyone’s Carolina

In a case of dueling dentists, the state Business Court has found that the word ‘Carolina‘ is something to be shared.

Dr. E. LaRee Johnson, owner of Carolina Pediatric Dentistry in Raleigh, sued Carolina Orthodontics and Children’s Dentistry in Cary for having the audacity to use “Carolina’ in its name.

Johnson alleged that her competitor violated her common law trademark rights and that its use of Carolina was an unfair trade practice.

Years earlier, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office refused to register Carolina Pediatric Dentistry because “the proposed mark merely describes the geographic region where the applicant provides its goods.”

Johnson later registered her practice’s name with the Wake County Register of Deeds, but she has not registered the name as a trademark with the North Carolina Secretary of State, according to a Sept. 28 order from Business Court Judge Gregory McGuire.

Johnson argued that the defendant’s use of ‘Carolina’ was confusing potential clients, but her only evidence of actual confusion in the marketplace consisted of a single instance in which she said she overheard another dentist say she thought she’d opened an office in Cary, according to McGuire.

He gave Johnson’s argument the boot, finding that the dentist had no protectable interest in ‘Carolina.’ The ruling followed an earlier order denying Johnson’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

Johnson’s attorney, John Jackson of the Morningstar Law Group in Raleigh, did not respond to an interview request.

An attorney for the defendant dentist, Patricia Shields of Hedrick Gardner in Raleigh, noted that many other dental practices also use ‘Carolina’ in their names: “It’s hard to find a name that’s used more commonly,” she said.

The defendant’s original attorney, Tony Biller of Coates + Bennett in Cary, said “this is a case that never should have been brought and once brought never should have been pursued past preliminary injunction once they lost that.”

Correction: An earlier version misidentified Dr. E. LaRee Johnson’s gender.