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From Polymer Technology Corp. v. Mimran, 37 F.3d 74 (2nd Cir 1994)

First, Polymer claims that the sale of a product in the retail market which is specifically marked "For Professional Distribution Only" will cause consumer confusion about the "legality and safety of the product." This is not the type of consumer confusion that courts have previously found gives rise to a claim for trademark infringement in these types of cases. Generally, courts find consumer confusion only where consumers, relying on the reputation of a trademark, buy a product that they think is safe or of a certain quality, and then subsequently find out that they have actually purchased an inferior item. See Matrix Essentials, 988 F.2d at 591 (concluding consumer confusion necessarily involves "some defect (or potential defect) in the product itself that the customer would not be readily able to detect"); see, e.g., El Greco, 806 F.2d at 395-96 (finding consumer confusion where retailer distributed shoe that did not meet the quality control standards of the CANDIES brand of shoes yet still contained the CANDIES stamp). Because consumers will attribute the inferior good to the trademark owner, the reputation of the trademark will be harmed. In contrast, in this case, consumers buying the product are informed from the outset that the product is "For Professional Dispensing Only." Accordingly, although consumers may wonder why they are able to buy a product that is labeled "For Professional Distribution Only" in a retail store, they are certainly not being deceived about what they are receiving. See, e.g., Matrix Essentials, 988 F.2d at 591 (no trademark infringement where consumers made retail purchases of plaintiff's hair care products labeled for salon use only because consumers obviously not deceived about whether they were getting a cosmetologist's consultation with their purchase); H.L. Hayden Co. of New York v. Siemens Medical Systems, Inc., 879 F.2d 1005, 1023 (2d Cir.1989).

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