Likelihood of confusion

Likelihood of confusion is a key test in trademark and unfair competition matters. It asks whether the relevant public may assume, because of similarities between signs, goods, services or market presentation, that offerings come from the same or economically linked undertakings. The assessment is overall and considers distinctiveness, visual, phonetic and conceptual similarity, and the closeness of goods or services. In Swiss practice, strong marks receive broader protection, while even small differences may suffice where signs or goods are weakly similar.