LEGAL ISSUE - Anchor links and Trademark infringement ? ? ? ?

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Remcetlky I was asked to remove an anchor link from my signature on forum.
I am linking to a name of of produc that is actually pretty common and NOT registered as a trademark
Not on a federal, state or local level. The only thing they have to rely on is common law.

So basically, I want to rank for something pretty common, like SEO BACKLINKER -(not the actual name mind you, just an example of how common the word is).
Someone that owns a product by the exact name I am trying to rank for (though my anchor linking efforts) has threatened to sue me because the link leads to my domain, not theirs.

Now, the phrase is decently common & not registered as a trademark but technically is not my property either. Just a common name.

What legal grounds do they have to stand on for something like this?

Hell, what if I wanted to rank for someont blatent, like MAZDA, and I used MAZDA anchor links and drove traffic to my site which was related, but not selling mazdas?

Is there any law preventing people for anchor linking to names that are not theirs?
  • Profile picture of the author Floyd Fisher
    Get a lawyer and ask them.
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    The way the search engines work, anchor text is tantamount to having a name in your DOMAIN NAME.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kurt
    Originally Posted by pseudonymble View Post

    Remcetlky I was asked to remove an anchor link from my signature on forum.
    I am linking to a name of of produc that is actually pretty common and NOT registered as a trademark
    Not on a federal, state or local level. The only thing they have to rely on is common law.

    So basically, I want to rank for something pretty common, like SEO BACKLINKER -(not the actual name mind you, just an example of how common the word is).
    Someone that owns a product by the exact name I am trying to rank for (though my anchor linking efforts) has threatened to sue me because the link leads to my domain, not theirs.

    Now, the phrase is decently common & not registered as a trademark but technically is not my property either. Just a common name.

    What legal grounds do they have to stand on for something like this?

    Hell, what if I wanted to rank for someont blatent, like MAZDA, and I used MAZDA anchor links and drove traffic to my site which was related, but not selling mazdas?

    Is there any law preventing people for anchor linking to names that are not theirs?
    Their "legal grounds" is that it is the Warrior Forum and they can allow or disallow any link they want.

    However, did this link point to an affiliate program? If so, this is directly against forum rules.
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    • Profile picture of the author pseudonymble
      Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

      Their "legal grounds" is that it is the Warrior Forum and they can allow or disallow any link they want.

      However, did this link point to an affiliate program? If so, this is directly against forum rules.
      I am not talking about the warrior forum.
      I own 5 forums myself.
      The signature was on these forum, and the company that asked me to remove the anchor links was from my own forums using the name of their product linking to another 6ths site I own.
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