Dj. Howard et al., The effects of brand name similarity on brand source confusion: Implications for trademark infringement, J PUBL POL, 19(2), 2000, pp. 250-264
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.