Abolish Trademark Law's Initial Interest Confusion and Permit Manipulative Internet Search Practices

Priya Singh, American University, Washington College of Law

Abstract

This article discusses Trademark law’s doctrine of Initial Interest Confusion, which is currently applied to internet cases. First, it argues that the doctrine is problematic because it does not require the traditional showing of Likelihood of Confusion, it is superfluous, and it is unnecessary in the internet context. Second, it proposes that courts should instead rely on the Likelihood of Confusion analysis. Additionally, courts should acknowledge that metatags are an outdated issue, and when it comes to domain names they should make use of the ACPA (Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act).