Law Commons^™

Trademark Litigation As Consumer Conflict, Michael Grynberg

College of Law Faculty

Trademark litigation typically unfolds as a battle between competing sellers who argue over whether the defendant's conduct is likely to confuse consumers. This is an unfair fight. In the traditional narrative, the plaintiff defends her trademark while simultaneously protecting consumers at risk for confusion. The defendant, relatively speaking, stands alone. The resulting "two-against-one" storyline gives short shrift to the interests of nonconfused consumers who may have a stake in the defendant's conduct. As a result, courts are too receptive to nontraditional trademark claims where the case for consumer harm is questionable. Better outcomes are available by appreciating trademark litigation's parallel …