Trademark dilution, unlike trademark infringement, concerns the protection of a trademark, itself. Whereas trademark infringement protects trademark owners against marketplace confusion, trademark dilution protects famous trademarks from being weakened in cases where no one would likely be confused. The law recognizes that certain trademarks are so strong, and so famous, that no one but the senior trademark owner can use them as trademarks. Think Microsoft jeans for jeans that are super soft and comfy. They’re “micro-soft.” Find another name! Jet Blue toilet cleaner isn’t going to work either. These brands are famous. Any use by anyone who is not Microsoft or Jet Blue is going to either tarnish or dilute the trademark’s ability to serve as a sole identifier of source. If you have any question whether the use of a trademark might dilute another mark, you should consult a trademark attorney.
Why Trademark Attorneys?
We are licensed, professional trademark attorneys with more than 25 years combined experience clearing and filing trademark applications.
- We're not just a filing service – we're a full service law firm
- We advise our clients about the value of clearing their marks, and the tradeoffs of not doing a full clearance
- We offer a comprehensive full mark search from the industry leader in trademark search reports – not a Google search passed off as a "comprehensive search"
- We draft clearance letters that protect your company from most types of trademark damages
- We have a high success rate – well over 95% of our applications for marks we clear result in registrations
- We offer a free knockout search if your first mark is not cleared.