Legal Question From Local Business Owner

[sgtaw]

I just had this question from a local business owner. I'm not sure the answer!

His business website is http://BillClassicAuto.com (Made up name).

After research, a great keyword is "dallas auto repair" (also made up)

So, I purchased DallasAutoRepair.com and built a site.

There is another business in town called "Dallas Auto" and owns DallasAuto.com

Now, my client is worried he will get sued by Dallas Auto becuase the site DallasAutoRepair would infringe.

I don't think that is an issue. Do you?

How do we make sure it doesn't become and issue?

Thanks,

Ed

[RobinSkeen]

Your best course of action is to consult a licensed attorney regarding copyright infringement.

[Dan C. Rinnert]

I'm not an attorney, and you should contact a trademark attorney.

The standard is whether a mark is confusingly similar. I would say that "Dallas Auto" and "Dallas Auto Repair" are confusingly similar. So, depending upon how close your examples are to the real thing, that could be a problem.

But, it also depends on whether they are competitive. Does "Dallas Auto" offer repair services? If so, you have a problem.

If they don't, setting up a site called "Dallas Auto Repair" may give the impression that it is a repair service operated or approved by "Dallas Auto." That too could be a problem.

On the other hand, if the words are sufficiently generic, you might have an out there.

That's why you really need to talk to a lawyer. There are a lot of issues involved, and the attorney would need to know the details of what you plan to do as well, in order to make an accurate estimation of your legal options.

In the end, I'd bet you'll be better off finding an alternative name. What about something like "Auto Repair in Dallas"?

[Alton Hargrave]

Another domain name is cheaper than an attorney. Why not add a little more to the name to alleviate all the todo. How about something like...

DallasAutoRepairSolution.com

Alton

[JMB Marketing Group]

Originally Posted by sgtaw

I just had this question from a local business owner. I'm not sure the answer!

His business website is http://BillClassicAuto.com (Made up name).

After research, a great keyword is "dallas auto repair" (also made up)

So, I purchased DallasAutoRepair.com and built a site.

There is another business in town called "Dallas Auto" and owns DallasAuto.com

Now, my client is worried he will get sued by Dallas Auto becuase the site DallasAutoRepair would infringe.

I don't think that is an issue. Do you?

How do we make sure it doesn't become and issue?

Thanks,

Ed

Ed,

My (free) advice would be to sign up at these free Offline Biz sites and pose the question there.

Here are the sites:


This is Keith Boisvert’s and Vince Runza’s site (Both highly respected Warrior Members and Offline Biz Gurus).

LocalBizBuilders - Powered by vBulletin


This is Andrew Cavanaugh’s site (Highly respected Warrior Member, Copywriter and Offline Biz Guru).

OfflineBiz.com


You can't go wrong with either of these fellows or their sites. If they don't personally answer you, someone who is experienced or knowledgeable on their site will.

My (paid) advice is then to talk to a lawyer about this!


Good luck and let us know what advice you've been given (as to whether it was the free or paid kind)!

JMB

[senatl]

Originally Posted by Alton Hargrave

Another domain name is cheaper than an attorney. Why not add a little more to the name to alleviate all the todo. How about something like...

DallasAutoRepairSolution.com

Alton

I like this suggestion. It is cheaper than a lawyer. You could try DallasTXAutoRepair.com too

[Johnathan]

Hi,

Althought not a lawyer (standard disclaimer: get one, use your brain, etc), I have had a fair amount of experience in this area and consulted with a number of lawyers.

Based on what you've said/info you've provided... I would not think it was a major issue... trademark/copyright infringement usually only comes into play when someone is either trying to "pretend" they are someone who they aren't (i.e., steal business under the guise of being someone else), or it is a really big company that likes to protect their intellectual property very aggressively.

If he doesn't rip off the other company's site design/etc, and it is a unique design, etc, then he should be ok.

But bottomline, if he really is that concerned, yes, you should look at consulting an attorney. But probably the attorney will say pretty much what I just said.

Another note: You used very generic domain name examples. If the domains in question are like that, you should probably be ok. But if they are very specific, i.e., "dallastexas100huntstreetauto" and say "dallastexashuntstreetauto", then there could be a bit of an issue.

Originally Posted by sgtaw

I just had this question from a local business owner. I'm not sure the answer!

His business website is http://BillClassicAuto.com (Made up name).

After research, a great keyword is "dallas auto repair" (also made up)

So, I purchased DallasAutoRepair.com and built a site.

There is another business in town called "Dallas Auto" and owns DallasAuto.com

Now, my client is worried he will get sued by Dallas Auto becuase the site DallasAutoRepair would infringe.

I don't think that is an issue. Do you?

How do we make sure it doesn't become and issue?

Thanks,

Ed

[Kay King]

Whoa - this is not smart!

If you take forum legal advice and lose your own domain - that's your mistake.

If you have a client paying you to develop a site - you are not in a position to offer the client legal information UNLESS you get that info directly from an attorney.

Did you check to see if that name is trademarked?

You owe your client more than "I think it will be OK" - I'd go back to Plan A myself and register his business name.

kay

[seasoned]

If dallas auto is a trademark, or a real business that existed earlier, you DO have a problem!

I am not a lawyer, but believe your action to not be smart.

Steve

[LB]

Any answer other than "talk to a REAL attorney" is likely to be the wrong one. And the expensive one.

[davezan]

Originally Posted by Alton Hargrave

Another domain name is cheaper than an attorney. Why not add a little more to the name to alleviate all the todo. How about something like...

DallasAutoRepairSolution.com

Alton

Originally Posted by senatl

I like this suggestion. It is cheaper than a lawyer. You could try DallasTXAutoRepair.com too

Unfortunately there are documented cases where adding a character or even a
word doesn't get around infringement. I don't have a ready link, but you can do
a search for Google and Microsoft cases.

That's easier for unique and famous marks like the ones above. For cases like
the one discussed here, there are arguably too many details to cover.

But as others said, nothing beats talking to a trademark lawyer, barrister, etc.
And a licensed one with real-world experience at that.

[seasoned]

Originally Posted by davezan

Unfortunately there are documented cases where adding a character or even a
word doesn't get around infringement. I don't have a ready link, but you can do
a search for Google and Microsoft cases.

That's easier for unique and famous marks like the ones above. For cases like
the one discussed here, there are arguably too many details to cover.

But as others said, nothing beats talking to a trademark lawyer, barrister, etc.
And a licensed one with real-world experience at that.

mikerowesoft.com was sued!!!!!! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Rowe_(student)

Mr. Mike Rowe who, I believe DID make software, had more riights than someone that later made up some artificial name. But it SOUNDED like microsoft, so he was in trouble, He settled,

Steve