You’ve spent years building your brand — your name, your logo, your reputation. Then one day you discover another business using it. Maybe it’s a competitor with a suspiciously similar name. Maybe someone is selling products under your trademark without your permission. Whatever the situation, trademark infringement is a serious legal matter, and how you respond in the early stages can determine whether you protect what’s yours or watch your brand get diluted while the problem grows.
What Is Trademark Infringement Under Federal and Massachusetts Law?
A trademark is any word, name, symbol, or combination thereof that identifies the source of a product or service and distinguishes it from others in the marketplace. When a business uses a mark that is the same as — or confusingly similar to — your registered trademark without authorization, that’s trademark infringement.
Federal trademark law under the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. § 1051) gives trademark owners the right to sue for infringement in federal court and seek damages, injunctive relief, and in cases of willful infringement, attorneys’ fees. Massachusetts also recognizes unfair competition and trade identity claims under state law, providing additional avenues for relief.
The key legal question in most infringement cases is whether there is a likelihood of confusion — meaning whether consumers are likely to be misled about the source, sponsorship, or affiliation of a product or service. Courts look at factors including the similarity of the marks, the similarity of the goods or services, and the strength of the original mark.
Common Types of Trademark Infringement Massachusetts Business Owners Face
Trademark disputes come in many forms. Some of the most common situations our clients face include:
- A competitor adopting a business name, logo, or slogan that closely mimics yours
- Counterfeit goods being sold under your trademark without authorization
- A former employee or business partner using your brand after the relationship ends
- Domain name squatting — registering a web address that incorporates your trademark
- Unauthorized use of your trademark in online advertising, including Google Ads or social media
- Infringement by an overseas company selling into the U.S. market
Each of these scenarios carries different legal considerations, and the strategy for addressing them depends heavily on whether your mark is federally registered, how long the infringement has been occurring, and the financial harm involved.
Steps to Take When You Discover Someone Is Using Your Trademark
Document everything first. Before taking any legal action, gather evidence of the infringing use — screenshots, product samples, advertisements, website captures with dates. The strength of your case depends in part on your ability to show the infringement clearly and establish when it began.
Assess your trademark registration status. A federally registered trademark — one filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office — gives you significantly stronger legal protections than an unregistered mark. If your mark isn’t registered, now is also the time to evaluate whether registration makes sense going forward.
Send a cease and desist letter. In many cases, a well-drafted cease and desist letter from an experienced trademark attorney is enough to stop the infringement. It puts the infringer on formal legal notice, establishes a record, and often resolves the matter without litigation.
Pursue litigation if necessary. When the infringer refuses to stop — or when the financial harm is significant — federal litigation under the Lanham Act may be the right path. The Jacobs Law, LLC has experience handling trademark infringement litigation in Massachusetts and federal courts, and is prepared to fight aggressively to protect your brand.
Why Timing Matters in Trademark Disputes
Trademark rights can actually be weakened by inaction. If you become aware of an infringer and fail to act, courts may find that you’ve acquiesced to the use — undermining your ability to enforce the mark later. There’s also the issue of brand dilution: the longer an infringing mark is in the market, the more consumer confusion can spread and the harder it becomes to unwind the damage.
Acting quickly doesn’t mean acting recklessly. It means getting experienced legal counsel involved early so that the right strategy — whether a demand letter, negotiated resolution, or litigation — is deployed at the right time.
How The Jacobs Law, LLC Protects Your Intellectual Property
At The Jacobs Law, LLC, we handle both the transactional and litigation sides of intellectual property — from helping businesses register and protect their trademarks proactively to taking aggressive legal action when someone crosses the line.
[Travis J. Jacobs, Esq.]