Can a brand stamp another company name on their product even if the name is not trademarked but are in the same line of business (cosmetics)?
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Can a brand stamp another company name on their product even if the name is not trademarked but are in the same line of business (cosmetics)?
Asked on July 10, 2015 under Business Law, Nevada
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
No, they cannot. Even if the name is not trademarked, doing this is reasonably likely to cause customer confusion as to the source of the product and the affiliation of the companies, and using another company's name without its permission would almost certainly be considered unfair competition. This would give the company who's name was misappropriate grounds (such as under the federal Lanham Act) to bring a lawsuit seeking monetary compensation and/or an injunction (court order) barring the other company from doing this.
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