9 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
9 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Trademark - Registration Date

by RatRaceWatch
8 replies
Does anyone know where you can find the exact date a trademark was registered. I may have an issue on my hands here in regards to a domain name I have registered.

Thank you,
Ryan
#date #registration #trademark
  • Profile picture of the author lotsofsnow
    Hi Ryan,

    You can use this:
    Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS)

    If you click on the trademark you get all the information that you need.

    HP
    Signature

    Call Center Fuel - High Volume Data
    Delivering the highest quality leads in virtually all consumer verticals.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4752149].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author RatRaceWatch
    Ok here's my situation, and I'm sure I'm going to have a few say get legal advice, but honestly at this point it isn't worth it yet because I haven't started working with the domain.

    I had an idea for a site relating to bands (I'm not going to go into details for obvious reasons), and one of the terms we threw around when my band had a show (a very common term was) we had a "gig".

    So I registered a domain over a month ago called Request Gigs | Just another WordPress site (a project to be worked on the future cause my hands were tied). :0

    Anyways, one of my friends pointed out a fiverr gig to me and I was checking out the site.

    I noticed they had a lot of TM and low and behold I see Request Gigs(TM) on the side. At first I was like, you've got to be kidding me.... so my first intentions were to find out who got there first.

    After using the search, I found it shortly after posting this, I found out that fiverr has registered the word gigs (TM), but there's a whole series of registrations with (gigs) in it that are live.

    I find that kind of funny that they could register that word since it is so common but luckily my site isn't gigs.com.

    Now here come's the interesting part. I looked up request gigs and it isn't registered (which is a good thing). But now the question is, do I have to worry about this being an issue in the future.

    My site was registered first, there is no trademark registered for it, and I will not be doing anything to confuse my site with fiverr, nor did I even realize that we had a similar section.

    I'll fill in more details later, but I would love to get some feedback! :0
    Signature
    At Manifest Income our mission is to Help You Build A Business That Matches Your Passion.

    We offer: Free Business Plans, Web Design, Online Marketing Training, Mentorship, & Support!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4752182].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author davezan
      Hey Ryan. A few things.

      Note that any word or phrase can actually become a trademark. It just depends
      if it's being used in a distinctive rather than descriptive context or manner.

      So you have common words like shell, tide, even head and shoulders descriptive
      for the mollusk, the waves and a person considered above the rest. Yet they're
      also distinctive (and very commercially successful) as petroleum, detergents and
      shampoo respectively.

      While registration dates are generally considered in who did what first, there has
      been various decisions where the trademark registration's "date of first use" has
      prevailed over a domain name's registration date. This is mainly because some of
      them are able to show they started using the term or so as a trademark before
      its domain name-sake was regged.

      Remember that a trademark doesn't have to be registered in order to exist or be
      used as one, otherwise known as a common law trademark right. Registration
      does give more benefits versus common law, though, such as enforcement and
      pursuing damages.

      One lawyer I know has this analogy: if your dog isn't licensed in your state if it's
      required, it still remains a dog. And it could still bite too, heh.

      Anyway, no one can really and truly say if Fiverr will pursue. But from what you
      were willing to share here, especially if Fiverr is prepared to show if and when
      they started using those terms as a trademark versus your domain registration,
      what you're looking to do is arguably risky. Then again, what isn't in life?

      Good luck.
      Signature

      David

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4752500].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Guinness1759
    Request Gigs might be generic enough where it's still ok to use with a TLD. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark#Domain_names, at the end where they talk about generic terms.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4752593].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author RatRaceWatch
    Well from what I read and what I can see, this domain might still be on the backburner, but I plan on putting it to use. Fiverr has only trademarked Gig, I did not get my site name from their website, but noticed their request gigs section. And because of the above stated, I'm not going to worry too much about it. I could copy paste TM all over my site, but in the end not only is it not registered, but they have no right to it.

    Of course I'm trying to cover all angles here, but it seems now a days, people will go after you for anything... sigh.

    Thnx guys!
    Signature
    At Manifest Income our mission is to Help You Build A Business That Matches Your Passion.

    We offer: Free Business Plans, Web Design, Online Marketing Training, Mentorship, & Support!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4752698].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
      The following is NOT legal advice, just something I learned from working in the Intellectual Property arena for years has a professional inventor...

      Being granted a Trademark or Patent only really gives you the right to defend either of those in a court of law. It is not an absolute ownership of rights in and of itself (the grant).

      The big difference between being granted a Trademark or Patent, and having absolute ownership over the rights to either, is decided by an affirmative judicial ruling in the IP owner's favor once the rights have been contested.

      In other words, the USPTO agent, as an example, that grants either of those two types of IP rights could have been incompetent or drunk when they signed off on them (it happens). The person or entity who has been granted rights to the IP will only know if their rights are genuine if they are backed up by a ruling so stipulating that the IP rights have been contested and have been found to be enforcable.

      This is rarely talked about here for the simple reason that the dollars involved in contesting IP rights are astronomical, so it almost becomes a moot point.

      Just food for thought...

      ~Bill
      Signature
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4752947].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author RatRaceWatch
    Thanks Bill For The Reply. It would seem like a ludicrous challenge, but hey... what's life without a little controversy :0
    Signature
    At Manifest Income our mission is to Help You Build A Business That Matches Your Passion.

    We offer: Free Business Plans, Web Design, Online Marketing Training, Mentorship, & Support!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4752964].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
    There can be multiple trademark registrations for the exact same words, if used in different industries. The key is to not cause consumer confusion. "request gigs" as used at Fiverr is an entirely different industry from yours. No consumer confusion.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5760232].message }}

Trending Topics