TRADEMARK CONFUSION: A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE AWARENESS AND LOYALTY FACTORS
The similarity of trademarks to the degree of confusion occurs if the consumer accepts one trademark for another, or distinguishes them, but refers to the same manufacturer. This problem generates both financial losses and legal conflicts. Evidence collected through applied sociological research can play an important role in resolving disputes. The article describes the methodology and results of a sociological study that allows pre-evaluating the role of such important factors as trademark awareness and consumer loyalty in the occurrence of similarity to the extent of confusion. The results of the study are socially and culturally most appropriate for making decisions about the similarity to the degree of confusion by domestic state bodies. The empirical study was conducted using a sociological Internet survey on a sample of adult residents of Russia recruited from an online panel anketer.org (June 23-29, 2020). The sample was randomly divided into a control group (N=800) and an experimental group (N=800). It was found that the influence of awareness and loyalty factors on the similarity to the point of confusion is not obvious. For loyalty, it is not only the trademark itself that is important, but also the level of its awareness. Fakes under well-known brands do not leave such an opportunity in the reflection of consumers. In reality, the consumer does not have additional opportunities to identify a fake, such as the presence of adjacent obvious fakes, which can create confusion. Analysis of the research methodology proves that it is possible to detect a certain configuration of the influence of loyalty on similarity to the point of confusion, and also theoretically allows for adjustment of the result depending on the adjustment of the research methodology.