Special characters & symbols
"Tech&Co" or "Tech and Co", "S+P" or "SP": symbols are read and pronounced like the word they replace. They therefore rarely create a real distance between two trademarks.
Symbols are pronounced
The ampersand "&" is said "and", the "+" is said "plus", the "@" is said "at". Whoever replaces a word with its symbol (or vice versa) keeps the same sound and the same meaning.
In the overall impression, such a variant acts like the original. For the likelihood of confusion it is therefore generally irrelevant.
Example
This is what such a collision looks like
& stays "and"
A symbol replaces the word – not the trademark. Spoken, the difference disappears.
Does free basic protection detect this?
Free basic protection detects identical spellings. But whether "&" or "and" is written is a question of sound and meaning – and therefore a case for Pro's similarity analysis.
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This article is for information and does not constitute legal advice.