The effects of brand name similarity on brand source confusion: Implications for trademark infringement

The prevalent legal view with regard to trademark infringement is that cons umers who exercise a low (high) degree of care when evaluating goods will b e less (more) likely to notice differences among brands and thus conclude t hey are of (dis)similar origin. The authors argue on the basis of the invol vement literature and demonstrate through two field experiments that the ef fect of degree of care on likelihood of brand source confusion varies by th e type of similarity (similar sound versus similar meaning) among brand nam es. The authors discuss implications for trademark infringement litigation and company brand name evaluation in light of these findings.