What Does Trademark Infringement Imply?
Invention Development Advice - Marketing
In the wake of the stiff competition among manufacturers and service providers, trademark infringement has become a major issue. But how can a manufacturer know if its trademark has been unlawfully used by a competing brand? There are some vital factors that are used to determine if the trademark of a certain manufacturer has been violated.
by BartJones


Owing to the stiff competition among manufacturers and service providers, infringement of a trademark has become a serious issue. The question is how to determine when a particular trademark is said to be used unlawfully by a company? There are a few aspects that need to be checked for finding out if the trademark has been violated by another firm.

The most vital factor in this respect is the resemblance in way the word sounds, pronunciation, meaning, spelling or looks of the trademark. If the likeness between the trademarks on any one of these counts is significant enough to give rise to confusion in a consumer's minds, it will amount to trademark infringement. This would result in loss of revenue for the firm with the authentic trademark, because the customer might end up buying the product of the competitor. If the two names have similar sounds, then not even a difference in spelling can protect the company from trademark infringement.

The next factor to be taken into account is the link between the products and services provided by the manufacturers having similar trademarks. If they are unrelated, the probability of confusion will be low even if they bear very similar trademarks.

Another important factor is how aware the customers of the items or services in question are. Even similar trademarks can't confuse smart consumers, who go for a thorough background study of an item before buying it. Such consumers are armed with comprehensive information about the competing brands and therefore they are not puzzled by closely resembling trademarks.

It is only an uninformed buyer who might end up buying a product in haste and get puzzled by the two trademarks similar to each other. He would not be aware of the subtle differences between the two trademarks, which in turn will increase the likelihood of his purchasing a counterfeit. This is one of the perfect examples of the kind of infringement of trademark that needs to be properly guarded against.

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