What is non-commercial use of a trademark? Is non-commercial use infringment of a trademark?
Non-commercial use of a trademark is generally that use which is not related to the sale of goods or services. If no funds are solicited or earned by using someone else’s mark, this use is not normally infringement. Trademark rights protect consumers from purchasing inferior goods because of false labeling. If no goods or services are being offered, or the goods would not be confused with those of the mark owner, or if the term is being used in a literary sense, but not to label or otherwise identify the origin of other goods or services, then the term is not being used commercially. One example of non-commercial use is descriptive use (where the name is used to describe something, such as “He went to MacDonald’s for lunch” or “She was wearing the MacDonald tartan.
