Dilution Law

Dilution is when another trademark would infringe on your trademark’s reputation or identity. This can occur even without a finding of likelihood of confusion. The goal of dilution law is to prevent damage to a trademark owner based on the name. The two main forms of dilution are blurring and tarnishment. Blurring occurs when a trademark would weaken the standing of a registered trademark by “blurring” the mental image consumers and others have when they think of the registered mark. This has the potential to diminish the mark’s uniqueness. Tarnishment is when a registered trademark could be linked to other products which would harm the way the mark is perceived. An example could be low quality or unsavory goods. The goods do not need to be related to tarnishment. There are many other factors to be considered as well such as fame of the mark and recognition, distinctiveness, and degree of similarity.

This blog is not legal advice and is not specific to your application. You should always consult an attorney.