Abstract
Adam Omar Shanti explores the concepts of dilution and famousness under Trademark Law. Dilution is a protection afforded "famous" trademarks by the Lanham Act. In essence, it prevents the usage of marks on dissimilar items that resemble a famous mark to prevent the "gradual whittling away or dispersion of the identity and hold upon the public mind." Dilution can occur by 1) blurring, 2) tarnishment, or 3) alteration. To determine whether a mark is "famous", eight subjective criteria are evaluated, which often produces inconsistencies among the courts. Mr. Shanti argues that an empirically derived test for fame must be created to promote uniformity. Several cases provide the building blocks for such a test, and he describes several methods for obtaining empirical evidence. Finally, Mr. Shanti presents the framework for a potential empirical test for measuring fame.
Repository Citation
Adam Omar Shanti,
Measuring Fame: The Use of Empirical Evidence in Dilution Actions ,
5 Marq. Intellectual Property L. Rev. 177
(2001).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/iplr/vol5/iss1/5