Edited by author 02-26-2003 10:45 PM
Cory said " A use that creates consumer confusion is infringing."

Exactly so. Perhaps the clearest example would be if in an advertisment, Ask Jeeves were to claim the be the "best way to google." Here there's a clear likelihood that this claim would confuse consumers and might lead them to believe that the Ask Jeeves search engine is based on, or somehow affiliated with Google. This would be a clear case in which one company is "trading on," or improperly capitalizing on the mark of another company.

(Ask Jeeves could claim to be "better than Google." Comparisons are permitted, so long as you can substantiate your claim. But then they couldn't, could they.)