Infringement of a trademark has become a critical issue in this era of high competitiveness. But how is it possible to determine when a specific trademark is said to be used illegally by a company? There are a few aspects that need to be examined for finding out if the trademark has been violated by another company.
The main aspect is to look into the similarity between the two trademarks with respect to appearance, sound, meaning, spelling and pronunciation. If there is an enough resemblance between the two in any one of these factors, then there is a good chance that the trademarks will lead to confusion in the minds of the consumers. This in turn would lead to financial loss to the firm that owns the trademark as the consumer will not be able to differentiate their items from the fake ones. If the two words sound quite similar, then not even a change in spelling can protect the symbol from infringing the trademark.
The next factor to be considered is the link between the products and services offered by the brands with similar trademarks. There will be a much lower chance of confusion if the goods or services are completely disconnected from each other.
Another feature that has to be investigated is the degree of awareness of the consumers of the product. Similar looking trademarks will not be able to lead to confusion for those customers who always do an elaborate study of the products they are about to purchase. Knowledgeable consumers are armed with an extensive knowledge of rival products, and so they do not fall under the impact of similar trademarks.
It is the ordinary shopper who in his hurry might choose a counterfeit product from the store by not being able to differentiate between the two trademarks. He would not be aware of the subtle differences between the two similar trademarks, which in turn will increase the likelihood of his buying a fake product. This is the perfect example of trademark infringement, which has to be guarded against.
The main aspect is to look into the similarity between the two trademarks with respect to appearance, sound, meaning, spelling and pronunciation. If there is an enough resemblance between the two in any one of these factors, then there is a good chance that the trademarks will lead to confusion in the minds of the consumers. This in turn would lead to financial loss to the firm that owns the trademark as the consumer will not be able to differentiate their items from the fake ones. If the two words sound quite similar, then not even a change in spelling can protect the symbol from infringing the trademark.
The next factor to be considered is the link between the products and services offered by the brands with similar trademarks. There will be a much lower chance of confusion if the goods or services are completely disconnected from each other.
Another feature that has to be investigated is the degree of awareness of the consumers of the product. Similar looking trademarks will not be able to lead to confusion for those customers who always do an elaborate study of the products they are about to purchase. Knowledgeable consumers are armed with an extensive knowledge of rival products, and so they do not fall under the impact of similar trademarks.
It is the ordinary shopper who in his hurry might choose a counterfeit product from the store by not being able to differentiate between the two trademarks. He would not be aware of the subtle differences between the two similar trademarks, which in turn will increase the likelihood of his buying a fake product. This is the perfect example of trademark infringement, which has to be guarded against.
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