Not infringement, though, I’m pretty sure there’s an actual term… Like "Tommy HilfiNger" is a rip-off of "Tommy Hilfiger"…
Nope, infringement is the actual term. It’s trademark infringement, also misrepresentation. See reference at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark_infringement. To bring a suit against an infringer, one has to have registered the trademark, brand name, or logo. If you haven’t registered it, you can still sue for misrepresentation. Two things I didn’t know that I found interesting in the Wikipedia article:
1) The concept of "trade dress." To quote http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_dress:
"Trade dress is a legal term of art that generally refers to characteristics of the visual appearance of a product or its packaging (or even the design of a building) that signify the source of the product to consumers. Trade dress is a form of intellectual property."
2) "Trade dilution" (Again, I quote http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark_dilution)
"Trademark dilution is a trademark law concept permitting the owner of a famous trademark to forbid others from using that mark in a way that would lessen its uniqueness. In most cases, trademark dilution involves an unauthorized use of another’s trademark on products that do not compete with, and have little connection with, those of the trademark owner. For example, a famous trademark used by one company to refer to hair care products might be diluted if another company began using a similar mark to refer to breakfast cereals or spark plugs.[1]"