Your understanding covers the basic intent of U.S. trademarks, but it got much more complicated with the Federal Trademark Dilution Act of 1995: https://en.wiki

Your understanding covers the basic intent of U.S. trademarks, but it got much more complicated with the Federal Trademark Dilution Act of 1995: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Trademark_Dilution_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Trademark_Dilution_Act. Nowadays, impairing a famous trademark's distinctiveness can be an issue, even in the absence of confusion or competition.