The Lanham Act, enacted in 1946, created the national registry system and protects a trademark owner against similar use. The Act provides a way for companies to watch for alterations to their trademarks, prevents trademark dilution, and protects against false advertisement and the likelihood of consumer confusion. In order to qualify for protection under the Lanham Act, the mark must: 1) Be used in commerce AND cause confusion or deception, or 2) Contain false advertising. The “likelihood of confusion” test focuses on the similarity of marks and looks at the hard evidence of confused consumers, while the false advertisement test requires a trademark holder to prove there was a commercial injury caused by the advertisement.

Another option when fighting trademark infringement is to seek injunctive relief. Through injunctive relief, you can be granted a temporary restraining order or other enjoining court orders to stop the offending use. In August 2020, Arizona State University (ASU) did exactly this to protect its trademark and logo from false advertising related to COVID-19. A social media account was using school trademarks to disseminate false claims about the school’s requirements for the pandemic. Among other things, the account said students were not required to wear masks and claimed the school believed the entire pandemic was a hoax. ASU sought a restraining order and preliminary injunction alleging that the account was “spreading dangerous misinformation,” and that the unauthorized use of ASU’s trademarks not only harmed ASU, but if not enjoined, was likely to endanger the health of the university community. Similarly, larger medical supply manufacturer 3M has been granted injunctive relief against numerous product counterfeiters using its trademark to price gouge on protective masks. Microsoft was granted the same amid COVID-19 due to computer hackers using its name and trademark to phish for customers’ personal and health information.