The Delta Test: Same Name, Different Industries

Delta is an airline. Delta is also a faucet brand. Both use the same word, and both coexist legally. The reason: consumers aren’t confused. Nobody buying a kitchen faucet thinks Delta Airlines made it. That’s the core test in trademark law—likelihood of consumer confusion.

When You Can Use an Existing Name

As a general rule, you can use a word that’s already trademarked if your industry is different enough that consumers won’t be confused about the source. Delta typewriters would likely be fine—it’s a completely different market from airlines or faucets. The key question is always: would a reasonable consumer think these products come from the same company?

The Dilution Exception for Famous Brands

Big brands get extra protection. Could you launch Mercedes Computers? No—even though nobody would confuse a computer company with a car manufacturer. Famous marks are protected under a separate legal doctrine called dilution. If you’re riding the coattails of a well-known brand, hoping their reputation rubs off on your product, that’s dilution. You’re getting a free ride on their goodwill, and the law won’t allow it.

Practical Steps Before Choosing a Name

Start by searching Google and the USPTO trademark database. If others are using the name in a completely different industry, you may be fine. But if the brand is widely recognized or the industries overlap at all, consult a trademark attorney before investing in a name you might have to abandon.

Video Transcript

The Challenge of Finding a Name No One Else Is Using

As a business owner, one of the big questions that you will encounter is picking a unique name that nobody else is using. How do you do that? Well, first you can Google it to see if anyone else is using it, but if you are using a word, most likely somebody else is using that.

The Delta Example Across Different Industries

So when are you allowed to use it and when are you not? Well, let’s say, for example, you want to do a brand name for Delta typewriters. Could you use that? Well, when you go to search Delta, you find out, “Oh yeah, there is Delta airlines.” One of the big United States airline brands is Delta. Does that mean you cannot use it for a typewriter company? What do you think? Well, I was going to fix a problem in one of our sinks. And when I looked at the brand of the sink, the faucet in particular, it was Delta. You can see here some of the parts that I’ve purchased for this repair. I am going to be repairing a Delta faucet.

Why Multiple Companies Can Use the Same Word

So clearly in the faucet category, Delta can be used, and in the airline category, Delta can be used. Why is that? It is because as a general rule, you can use a word, even though it is trademarked, as long as you use it in a distinct enough industry, or a different enough industry that consumers won’t be confused.

Likelihood of Consumer Confusion

So what do you think? If a consumer goes to buy a little product here, do you think that they are going to wonder, “Hey, I wonder if that is made by Delta airlines.” No, It is a sink product. There is no likelihood that consumers will be confused by whether Delta Airlines made that product or some other company in the sink industry and faucet industry. That is the test.

Are consumers likely to be confused? If the answer is no, they are not likely to be confused, then you can use the same name as another company. And it generally won’t be considered trademark infringement.

The Dilution Doctrine

There are some exceptions to this. That is the big brands. For example, can you do a Mercedes computer? No, because the Mercedes brand is so big that you are not going to be able to use a big brand like that on any products. So the really big brands you can’t use anywhere because even though people may not confuse it as the same company, there is a separate legal doctrine that comes up called dilution.

Dilution is where you are trying to ride the coattails of another company. You are hoping their vibe or their good reputation will somehow sprinkle some goodwill in the minds of the consumers onto your product. You are getting a free ride on their brand. So you can’t call anything Mercedes without diluting their mark, and thus, Mercedes would have a claim against you even though it is not technically trademark infringement, it would likely be trademark dilution.

I am Aaron Hall, an attorney for business owners and entrepreneurial companies. It As I always say, before you rely on any of this, consult with an attorney. It is my hope that you use these questions to identify topics and questions to bring up with your attorney. I hope you are doing well. Take care.