What is the difference between trademark infringement and trademark dilution?

Answer 1

Infringement is where one party infringes upon the trademark rights of another. For example, if you were to open a shoe store & name it Nykey, Nighkee, etc., that would likely be considered an infringement upon Nike ®.

Dilution is typically when a mark is used as a verb rather than a noun. For example, it's improper to say "I'm going to Google that." It should be something like "I'm going to search for that using Google." This is important to trademark owners because they do not want their trademarks to lose their impact in the minds of the public. Did you know that aspirin, zipper, escalator & bikini were trademarks at one time? The owners didn't properly secure their trademarks & those terms became diluted & genericized.

You can read more here:http://www.answers.com/topic/list-of-generic-and-genericized-trademarks

Definition of dilution: http://research.lawyers.com/glossary/dilution.html

Definition of infringement: http://research.lawyers.com/glossary/infringement.html

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

To prove trademark infringement, a plaintiff must show that the defendant's use of a mark has created a likelihood of confusion about the origin of the defendant's goods or services. To do this, the plaintiff should show:
(a) P has developed a protectable trademark right in a trademark
and (b) D is using a confusingly similar mark in such a way that it creates a likelihood of confusion, mistake and/or deception with the consuming public.

Trademark dilution is stronger protection, but applies to a narrower category of marks. To prove trademark dilution, the P must show:
(a) P has a "famous" mark
and (b) use of the mark by D causes the dilution of the "distinctive quality" of the mark.

Basically, trademark infringement provides protection against a competitor using a mark that confuses consumers, such as a burger joint called "MacDonnald's". But, a car wash called MacDonnald's would not be likely to be confused with the McDonald's burger chain, so there would probably be no trademark infringement.

On the other hand, a car wash called MacDonnald's might be liable for trademark dilution, because McDonald's is a famous mark. Especially if the MacDonnald's logo used golden arches. In that case, the link between the McDonald's name and their business (burgers) could be diluted in the minds of consumers, doing harm to their mark.

More information available at bitlaw.com.

Answer 3

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