Trademark Dilution

Because the standard for infringement of a trademark is whether the junior mark is confusingly similar to the senior mark, instances arose in which challenged marks were not confusingly similar but still harmed the first mark. For example, consider a use of the mark REEBOK® for orange juice. Because the products offered under the REEBOK® marks are so different, there is little or no likelihood that consumers will confuse the marks and purchase orange juice when they really want to purchase shoes. Nevertheless, the owner of REEBOK® for shoes is damaged because the strength of its mark is being whittled away, blurred, and diluted. Similarly, using another's marks in an unsavory or disparaging fashion, such as selling dog food ...

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