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Trademark question?

by FitMarketer
7 replies
My offline company has a z in the name of it.

We are based in Europe and have received an email from an american company who started after us but have the name without the z trademarked in the US.
They are threatening us to change the name.

Can anyone offer any advice on this?

We are not direct competition to them and have had our domain for a few years longer than they have had the name trademarked.

Are they just trying to scare us off or do they actually have any legal right?

Thanks
#question #trademark
  • Profile picture of the author salegurus
    My advice would be to contact an Attorney who specializes in this field.
    Asking for legal advice on an IM forum is not a good idea...

    http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...al-advice.html
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  • Profile picture of the author stoltingmediagroup
    Since you received such notice from a business that:

    A: is not related to yours
    B: is trademarked in the US but not Europe
    C: who's name is spelled differently
    D: who registered their trademark (and even spelled differently)
    years after you had your domain name up....

    You should probably ask for "legal" advise, and/or get a law firm to respond to them.
    I would not automatically change anything on my end simply because they are threatening. But don't take that as advice, ultimately it's your choice.
    But do get a qualified legal answer to this before you make a move.
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    Arnold Stolting - Stolting Media Group
    "I LOVE The Song! The Vibe Is Positive And Firm!" - Kymani Marley. (Son of Bob Marley).
    "Very High Quality!" Jeremy Harding - Manager / Producer. Sean Paul.
    "They Are FANTASTIC!" - Willie Crawford.
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    • Profile picture of the author FitMarketer
      Originally Posted by stoltingmediagroup View Post

      Since you received such notice from a business that:

      A: is not related to yours
      B: is trademarked in the US but not Europe
      C: who's name is spelled differently
      D: who registered their trademark (and even spelled differently)
      years after you had your domain name up....

      You should probably ask for "legal" advise, and/or get a law firm to respond to them.
      I would not automatically change anything on my end simply because they are threatening. But don't take that as advice, ultimately it's your choice.
      But do get a qualified legal answer to this before you make a move.
      Thanks for the advice.

      I will definitely contact my lawyer about it but feel like they are threatening me with no ground to stand on.

      Thanks
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      • Profile picture of the author stoltingmediagroup
        Originally Posted by FitMarketer View Post

        Thanks for the advice.I will definitely contact my lawyer about it but feel like they are threatening me with no ground to stand on. Thanks
        Yes from what you've mentioned it does sound like an empty threat, and most likely they don't have any grounds for doing so. However in order to be certain, and to put an end to this, and to firmly respond to them so they don't bother you again, (or possibly other companies that have a similar spelling) one would need to have access to all the details and be knowlegeable of all the related laws in order to put them in their place.
        Signature
        Arnold Stolting - Stolting Media Group
        "I LOVE The Song! The Vibe Is Positive And Firm!" - Kymani Marley. (Son of Bob Marley).
        "Very High Quality!" Jeremy Harding - Manager / Producer. Sean Paul.
        "They Are FANTASTIC!" - Willie Crawford.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[8365638].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author FitMarketer
          Originally Posted by stoltingmediagroup View Post

          Yes from what you've mentioned it does sound like an empty threat, and most likely they don't have any grounds for doing so. However in order to be certain, and to put an end to this, and to firmly respond to them so they don't bother you again, (or possibly other companies that have a similar spelling) one would need to have access to all the details and be knowlegeable of all the related laws in order to put them in their place.
          Thanks for the advice will be talking to my lawyer this week
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      • Profile picture of the author serryjw
        Check email properties to see if it's REALLY the company writing.
        SCAM? "internet brand intellectual property safeguard" - TechRepublic
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  • Profile picture of the author FitMarketer
    Got a response from my lawyer last week

    Apparently as long as we are trading in Europe and he is in the US then he has no right to threaten us.

    We have since registered our trademark in Europe to prevent this from happening again

    Thanks for all the advice Warriors
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