Even if you use logos or elements similar to those of well-known brands in advertising campaigns, it is difficult to completely avoid trademark infringement charges. Because trademark protection is intended to prevent consumers from being confused about the source of goods or services, similar logos or elements can easily cause such confusion. However, if you must use them, you can refer to the following points for caution to reduce the risk of infringement: ### Seek professional legal advice - **Consult a trademark lawyer**: It is crucial to consult a professional trademark lawyer before taking any action. The lawyer can evaluate the legality of using the relevant logo or element based on the specific circumstances and provide professional legal advice. - **Analyze the status of trademark rights**: The lawyer will conduct a detailed analysis of the scope of rights, validity period, and whether there is a licensing agreement for the well-known brand trademark. For example, if the well-known brand trademark has rights defects, such as some rights have expired and have not been renewed, there may be some room for maneuver in certain circumstances. ### Assess the likelihood of confusion - **Comprehensive comparison**: Make a comprehensive and detailed comparison between the logo or element you plan to use and the well-known brand trademark. Not only should you consider the degree of visual similarity, but you should also analyze aspects such as meaning and pronunciation. For example, compare the text composition, graphic appearance, overall visual effects, etc. of the two trademarks to determine whether they are likely to cause confusion or misidentification in the cognition of the relevant public. - **Consider market factors**: Evaluate in combination with market factors such as the type of product or service, target audience, and sales channel. If the target audience is mainly a group that is not very sensitive to brand differences, or the products are in different market segments, then the possibility of confusion caused by the use of similar logos or elements is relatively high, and more caution is required. ### Fair use defense- **Meet statutory conditions**: - **Purpose legitimacy**: The use of similar logos or elements is to describe the characteristics, quality, use, etc. of the product or service, rather than to cling to the reputation of a well-known brand. For example, an environmentally friendly product uses a green logo similar to a well-known brand to indicate the environmental attributes of the product, and clearly indicates the product's own brand and characteristics next to the logo. This use has a legitimate purpose. - **Good faith use**: There is no subjective malice in the use process, and similar logos or elements are used based on reasonable business needs. For example, a newly established startup company accidentally used a color combination similar to that of a well-known brand when designing its packaging due to limited resources in the early stage of its business. However, it discovered the problem in time and took improvement measures, and did not use this similarity to mislead consumers. This can be considered as good faith use. - **Non-trademark use**: - **No prominent display**: In advertising activities, ensure that logos or elements similar to well-known brands are not prominently displayed to prevent consumers from regarding them as trademarks. For example, similar elements can be placed in the corners of the advertising screen as decoration, or presented in smaller fonts and weaker visual effects so that they do not become the main part of attracting consumers' attention. - **Clear brand distinction**: Display your own brand name, logo, etc. in a clear and prominent manner so that consumers can clearly distinguish the source of products or services. For example, when similar logos and your own brand logo appear in the advertisement at the same time, use larger fonts, eye-catching colors or unique layouts to highlight your own brand so that consumers will not be confused. ### Conduct creative transformation - **Add unique elements**: Transform similar logos or elements, add unique and creative elements, and make them clearly different from well-known brand trademarks. For example, when borrowing the graphic outline of a well-known brand trademark, add your own unique pattern, line or text description to make the overall logo have a unique visual effect and meaning. - **Change the form of expression**: Change the form of expression of similar logos or elements, such as converting them from two-dimensional graphics to three-dimensional shapes, or changing color combinations, font styles, etc. For example, if a well-known brand trademark is a red circular text logo, similar elements can be designed as blue square three-dimensional shapes and given new brand meanings. ### Avoid misleading publicity- **Ensure that the information is true and accurate**: In advertising activities, provide true and accurate information about products or services, and do not make false or misleading publicity. Even if you use logos or elements similar to well-known brands, you must let consumers know the true situation of the products or services clearly to avoid misunderstandings about product quality, source, etc. caused by similar logos. - **Avoid implying associations**: Avoid implying a specific association with well-known brands in advertising, such as sponsorship, partnership, etc., unless it actually exists and has been legally authorized. For example, in advertising, do not use expressions that are likely to confuse consumers, such as "jointly launched with a well-known brand" or "derived from the technology of a well-known brand".