{"id":5055,"date":"2016-04-04T10:47:54","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T15:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/smallbusiness\/intellectual-property\/the-likelihood-of-confusion-test.html"},"modified":"2024-05-22T21:44:05","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T02:44:05","slug":"the-likelihood-of-confusion-test","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/smallbusiness\/intellectual-property\/the-likelihood-of-confusion-test.html","title":{"rendered":"The ‘Likelihood of Confusion’ Test"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The 'Likelihood of Confusion' Test<\/h1>\n
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\n By Taylar-Simone McCants, J.D.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Amber Sheppard, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

There are several common reasons the\u00a0U.S. Patent and Trademark Office<\/a>\u00a0(USPTO) refuses to register a trademark. Among the most common is the likelihood of confusion with another\u00a0registered trademark<\/a>. The USPTO can do this because your mark may conflict with an existing trademark or a pending trademark application filed before yours.<\/p>\r\n

Before paying your nonrefundable filing fees to the USPTO, determine if your proposed trademark will pass the "likelihood of confusion" test below.<\/p>\r\n

Likelihood of Confusion Test<\/h2>\r\n

This is a legal basis that the USPTO may use to refuse registration of your trademark. The USPTO trademark refusal rationale is to avoid trademark infringement with a similar trademark.<\/p>\r\n

After a\u00a0trademark application is filed<\/a>, the assigned USPTO examining attorney will search the records. They will determine if a conflict exists between the mark in the application and another mark. The other mark must be already registered or pending before the USPTO.<\/p>\r\n

The examining attorneys with the USPTO use two principal factors in considering granting a trademark or service mark.<\/p>\r\n

Principal Factors<\/h2>\r\n

The two principal factors in determining whether there is a likelihood of confusion are:<\/p>\r\n