What is trademark dilution and what does anti-dilution statutes protect? Those are the primary questions that the dissertation seeks to answer. When a well-known trade mark is used by a non-competitor in such a way that the misrepresentation is created that the latter's performance has the same source or origin as the well-known trademark, it is called trademark misappropriation. One of the main reasons for the misappropriation is to promote the latter's product and/or performance and thus benefit from it. Whether we call it use or abuse…it is the dilution of the advertising value of the well-known trademark. The dissertation investigates the concept of dilution in order to establish the specific interest that is protected against dilution. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Private Law / unrestricted