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Different Types Of Trademark Violation

February 19th, 2010 |

Trademarks offer legal protection for certain words, logos, images and other symbols used by firms for running their business. They provide the trademark owners with the rights to bring legal proceedings against the violators or counterfeiters of their mark and at the same time prevent the consumers from being influenced by counterfeit items available in the market.

The two major causes of legal action brought under the trademarks framework are dilution of the trademark of a known company and likelihood of confusion for the customers.

A trademark can get diluted by the unlawful actions of unscrupulous individuals or firms, which can tarnish the reputation of the company by harming the image of the trademarked item with respect to a particular aspect or in a general way. For instance, if a trademark used by a firm that manufactures food products is used by another firm for selling pesticides, the customers might mistakenly believe that the former has gotten into a trade that compromises the quality of its products.

The chance of confusion arises in instances of use of trademarks that are identical or so remarkably similar that the consumers will fail to differentiate the two. The confusion could be about anything ranging from the nature of the item to its exact source. The underlying assumption behind such a violation is that an average customer cannot be expected to remember the exact specifications of all the products in the marketplace. In situations like these, any imitation of the mark can result in substantial financial and image loss for the firm that is the original owner of that trademark.

However, there are many other claims that are possible with respect to trademark infringement. The owner of the trademark can also bring an action for pass off, which means that some other company is trying to market its products as coming from him. Similarly, the trademark holder can also claim unfair competition and other market malpractices.

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