Digital Commons Network^™

Trademarks, Consumer Psychology, And The Sophisticated Consumer, Glenn L. Christensen, Eric D. Derosia, Thomas R. Lee

Faculty Publications

Trademark law rests on an amorphous foundation. The scope of protection afforded to the trademark holder turns on the psychology and behavior of the "ordinary" consumer "under the normally prevalent conditions of the market and giving the attention such purchasers usually give in buying that class of goods." In trademark law, "everything hinges upon whether there is a likelihood of confusion in the mind of an appreciable number of 'reasonably prudent' buyers." Where the ordinary consumer is deemed sufficiently "sophisticated" to discern differences between two competing marks, the law forecloses protection for the senior trademark.