What is the difference between a dilution claim and a trademark infringement claim?

Dilution and trademark infringement are two different forms of unfair competition that occur when a person or company uses a brand or product to confuse the public or unfairly trade off of the reputation and goodwill associated with someone else’s brand or product. In Delaware, these unfair competition claims are governed by the state’s Unfair Competition Law. A dilution claim occurs when a brand or product is used to confuse the public or to weaken the value of an existing trademark. For example, if a company named “Unique” sells furniture and another company uses the same name to sell makeup, that could be considered a dilution claim since the first company’s brand could become weakened by the second company’s use of the same name. On the other hand, a trademark infringement claim occurs when a copy of another’s brand or product is used. This is a more extreme version of dilution, as the infringing party is creating an identical brand or product that is meant to deceive the public into thinking they are buying the original product. For example, if a company named “Unique” sells furniture and another company creates an identical looking product with the same name to sell furniture, then that would be a trademark infringement claim. In Delaware, victims of either dilution or trademark infringement claims can seek a variety of remedies in court, such as compensatory damages, injunctions, or punitive damages in order to prevent the unfair competition.

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What is the difference between a dilution claim and a trademark infringement claim?

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