The legal standard for overlapping brand names has always been about whether the average consumer would get confused. That’s how we ended up with both soap and chocolate called “Dove.” But in today’s online world, everything can get tangled. In this #tellthetruths video I unpack why—and I’d love to hear your take.
The Internet Killed The Overlap
This video originally appeared in LinkedIn.
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TRANSCRIPT:
Hey, guys, it’s Rebeca with BrandTrue, and I want to talk about how the internet and the way we have perfect information or near perfect information because of it has actually done something interesting with naming. It used to be that you could have the same name appear in very different categories, and it was okay because there’s this legal standard about confusion. So that’s how you end up with Dove Chocolate and Dove as it started out, a bar of soap. Actually, both those names are from 1954, right around there. And like, they’re just… there wasn’t any confusion, they were small, regional brands and then they grew and they both had the right to the name.
Another great example of this is Delta. Delta Airlines, Delta Faucet, Delta Dental, it’s an insurance company. They all are using the name in very distinct ways, so no problem. But here’s what’s happened. Now, you can look for a brand in a search engine and you get messy findings, and so the legal standard is the same, but the fact that people could be confused. They could be like, “which is the one I’m looking for?” it means that it’s more problematic than it used to be. It’s also more problematic simply in the sense that not just at the consumer end, but the brand themselves, they can find out about it. And if they find out about it, they can just start causing trouble even though if your categories are like this, they might not prevail. It’s more hassle because of the way information flows so much more readily now.
So it’s an interesting development that I wanted to share with you. Something to think about. Yeah, you can do it, but can you try to find something that’s a little more distinct? Wanted to share that with you guys. Let me know what you think. Bye!
