New York Stock Exchange v. New York Hotel LLC, 293 F. 3d 550 - Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit 2002

"To determine the likelihood of blurring,[courts look] to six factors, including:(i) the similarity of the marks;(ii) the similarity of the products covered;(iii) the sophistication of the consumers;(iv) the existence of predatory intent;(v) the renown of the senior mark; and (vi) the renown of the junior mark

Law § 360-l. "New York law accords protection against dilution to marks that are distinctive as a result of acquired secondary meaning as well as to those that are inherently distinctive."

"Blurring occurs `where the defendant uses or modifies the plaintiff's trademark to identify the defendant's goods and services, raising the possibility that the mark will lose its ability to serve as a unique identifier of the plaintiff's product.'"

"A dispute as to a material fact is `genuine,'and hence summary judgment is not appropriate, under this standard, only `if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.'"Id

Law § 360-l. New York law protects against dilution by either blurring or tarnishment when marks are either inherently distinctive or distinctive as a result of secondary meaning.

—the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") sued the New York, New York Hotel in Las Vegas for use of an image of the NYSE 8Id.

"Tarnishment occurs where a trademark is linked to products of shoddy quality, or is portrayed in an unwholesome or unsavory context, with the result that the public will associate the lack of quality or lack of prestige in the defendant's goods with the plaintiff's unrelated goods."

In the context of blurring, distinctiveness refers to the ability of the famous mark uniquely to identify a single source and thus maintain its selling power.

"To determine the likelihood of dilution by blurring [under New York law], courts consider six factors similar to the Polaroid factors."

Rather, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the mark is inherently distinctive to prevail under the FTDA