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Trademark infringement on the rise

On Behalf of | Feb 19, 2020 | Intellectual Property

Companies in New York should take care to protect their intellectual property from potential infringement. Trademark infringement has been increasing, and it can damage a company’s reputation and sales while creating customer confusion.

According to research from CompuMark, 85% of the brands that were surveyed reported that they had experienced some form of trademark infringement in 2019. This was an increase from the 81% of brands that reported trademark infringement in 2018 and 74% of brands that reported trademark infringement in 2017.

Brands that experienced trademark infringement suffered substantial consequences. The leading consequences were reported as customer confusion in 45% of the cases, lost revenue in 38% of the cases and reputation harm in 37% of the cases. In 75% of the trademark infringement cases, litigation was necessary to resolve the issues for the brands. Out of the brands that suffered infringement, 46% reported that they had to rebrand at a substantial cost. The reported trademark infringement cases involved business names, social media, web domains, advertising campaigns and online marketplaces. At the same time, more companies are filing trademarks.

Companies register their marks to protect their intellectual property. A company’s trademarks help to distinguish their brands from others on the market and can be closely tied to the brand’s reputation. Companies that suffer trademark infringement can experience substantial losses. Potential customers can confuse their brands with those of the infringing company, causing revenue losses and damage to the business’s reputation. Businesses that learn that others have infringed on their intellectual property might want to talk to intellectual property attorneys who are experienced in handling trademark infringement cases. The attorneys may file motions to secure permanent injunctions against the infringing parties to prevent any further use of their clients’ trademarks. They might also litigate on behalf of their clients to recover damages to compensate them for the losses caused by the infringement.

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