Cite as: 512 U. S. 136 (1994)
Opinion of the Court
designation on a business card or letterhead, or in a yellow pages listing.11
The concurring Justices, on whom the Board relies, did indeed find the "[NBTA] Certified Civil Trial Specialist" statement on a lawyer's letterhead "potentially misleading," but they stated no categorical rule applicable to all specialty designations. Thus, they recognized that "[t]he potential for misunderstanding might be less if the NBTA were a commonly recognized organization and the public had a general understanding of its requirements." Peel, 496 U. S., at 115. In this regard, we stress again the failure of the Board to back up its alleged concern that the designation CFP would mislead rather than inform.
The Board never adverted to the prospect that the public potentially in need of a civil trial specialist, see Peel, supra, is wider, and perhaps less sophisticated, than the public with financial resources warranting the services of a planner. Noteworthy in this connection, "Certified Financial Planner" and "CFP" are well-established, protected federal trademarks that have been described as "the most recognized designation[s] in the planning field." Financial Planners: Report of Staff of United States Securities and Exchange Commission to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance 53 (1988), reprinted in Financial Planners and Investment Advisors, Hearing before the Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, 100th Cong., 2d Sess., 78 (1988). Approxi-11 Under the Board's regulations, moreover, it appears that even a disclaimer of the kind described would not have saved Ibanez from censure. Rule 24.001(i) flatly bans "[s]tat[ing] a form of recognition by any entity other than the Board that uses the ter[m] 'certified.' " Separate and distinct from that absolute prohibition, the regulations further proscribe "[s]tat[ing] or impl[ying] that the licensee has received formal recognition as a specialist in any aspect of the practice of public accounting, unless the statement contains" a copiously detailed disclaimer. Rule 24.001(j).
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