DILUTION

dilution.  1.  The  act  or  an  instance  of  diminishing  a  thing’s  strength  or  lessening  its  value.

2.Corporations. The reduction in the  monetary  value or  voting  power  of stock by increasing the

total  number of  outstanding shares. 3.Constitutional law. The limitation  of  the effectiveness of a

particular group’s vote by legislative reapportionment or political gerrymandering. • Such dilution

violates  the  Equal  Protection  Clause.  —  Also  termed  vote  dilution.  [Cases:  Constitutional  Law

225.3(2).  C.J.S.  Constitutional  Law  §  818.]  4.Trademarks.  The  impairment  of  a  famous

trademark’s strength, effectiveness, or distinctiveness through the use of the mark on an unrelated

product,  usu.  blurring  the  trademark’s  distinctive  character  or  tarnishing  it  with  an  unsavory

association.  •  Trademark  dilution  may  occur  even  when  the  use  is  not  competitive  and  when  it

creates  no  likelihood  of  confusion.  The  elements  of  trademark  dilution  are  (1)  ownership  of  a

famous mark and (2) actual dilution. But a plaintiff does not have to prove actual loss of sales or

profits.  Moseley  v.  V  Secret  Catalogue,  Inc.,  537  U.S.  418,  123  S.Ct.  1115  (2003).  See

BLURRING;    TARNISHMENT.    [Cases:    Trade    Regulation        366.    C.J.S.    Trade-Marks,

Trade-Names, and Unfair Competition § 79.] [Blacks Law 8th]