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Am I infringing??
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Anyway, the Edson Wright Company have just discovered me and are not happy that our websites are so similar and that our product has a nearly identical name. When I searched for the domain name I wanted, I did not think to look if any similar names like theirs was in use. My question: Am I infringing on their trademark? I have not filed for a trademark of my own.
Hi.The current company I work for has had experiance with trademark infringment from competitors who just where ignorant about our existance. The offending company gets a "Cease and desist" letter from our company. If the offending company continues they will have to show in a court why they can use our registered trademark, name and likeness or have to pay damages to our company.
If you really think your logo, name and likeness is different than the company who claims you infringed thier trademark, then I suggest you go see a lawyer who knows the laws in this area.
I recently received official trademark notification for my business and found another business is using the same name in the same industry but in another state.
What are the pros and cons of pursing trademark infringement and why or why not should businesses consider this?
Personally, I don`t feel threatened by the other use and think perhaps there is room to collaborate. However, I`d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.
Thanks in advance for your consideration.
trademark on "Red Bean" and it`s for a cleaning business. You can see that
the trademark is only on part of the business name I would want to use and
is in a completely different industry. Would you recommend I trademark
"Red Bean Coffee House" and/or "Red Bean"? When advertising could I use
"Red Bean" if I just have "Red Bean Coffee House" trademarked?
Lastly, how much would it cost to retain a lawyer to advise me on how to
proceed? I`m planning on starting a business and would hate to move
foward with my business only to find out 2 or 3 months later that I`m
infringing.
Hi Steve. I was talking about registering a trademark for "Cozy Cookies." I think that costs $325, which is a lot for me.
Great questions. I was wondering if I should register "Cozy Cookies", "CozyCookies" (without the space), or "CozyCookies.com" My logo contains the latter, but I can see myself using the logo without the ".com" in it also. I went to see what "Ask.com" had registered, and they`ve got both "Ask" and "Ask.com" registered. I`m thinking that every separate use of your name should be trademarked separately. This would get expensive though.
1. do it yourself via LegalZoom, and
2. call me when it is time to file the appeal at the appeal board or defend the lawsuit.
Been there. Done it. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of ..... Save the money, do it right the first time.
Part of being a smart business person is knowing your limits. Yes, you actually have limits - we all do. If I attempt to do my own dental work or fix my own car, I deserve what I get. If that`s being "fearful" then so be it. I am afraid to do my own dental work. I am afraid to fix my own car. I don`t have the specialized knowledge to be competent in those areas. I like my teeth. I go to a dentist.patentandtrademark2007-2-2 9:4:18
First of all, you`re not up against a General. You know, General
Motors... General Electric... even General Mills. Edson Wright is two
ladies in a garage. No disrespect to ladies or businesses that start in
garages.
Given the date of their TM and domain name filings they seem to have
been doing this about 6 or 7 years. They`re doing a good thing by
donating every 13th cookie to a child in a hospital, shelter or foster
care. I have no idea what resources these ladies have but it`s not
likely their business is earning enough cash to buy you out for enough
money to launch you on to the next venture.
It seems to me the greatest value to this whole thread is instructional. I appreciate those who have contributed thoughtfully.
A lot of people enjoy lawyer bashing. How many other professions have
spawned their own category of jokes? Sometimes as a startup, with
limited resources, the legal stuff gets left for later. If things go
well, you survive long enough and make enough money to go back and take
care of that stuff. It`s a risk you take just to get something going now.
Right now you need to focus on what is most important. Don`t let this
distract you from the task at hand, building your business.
In order to hire an accountant to do my taxes every year [even though in theory I COULD do my taxes myself], I have to forego certain things I would kind of like. I forego taking my family out for dinner each time I want to. I don`t buy my $5 cup of coffee each time I want to. I don`t buy each and every legal book I might like to have or register for each legal seminar I would like to attend.
I personally do not believe that people don`t have the money to hire a lawyer to file a trademark application properly. Just me - I simply don`t believe it. They have not come to the point where they think that expense is important enough to move the trademark to the top of their list. They don`t understand the value of the "good will" they are building in their business. They are not stupid - just uninformed. It`s easy to say "I can`t afford it" when we really want to say "I don`t think it is important enough."
Part of my problem is that, frankly, not all my ideas are worth protecting. Don`t anyone tell my wife I said that.
Sometimes I`m not sure how much I like a given idea until it`s had some
time to grow on me. If I like a new idea enough I might be willing to
spend a few bucks to hold a domain name for a year to give it time to
mature. Filing for a trademark for an idea that I may or may not use
seems like a bit much.
It might make the whole trademark process seem less daunting if it were
broken down into steps. Am I correct in assuming that at each step a
person can make a go / no-go decision whether to proceed to the next
step? If so, is it possible to list the steps involved (before, during
and after filing) and give ballpark figures of the time / cost for each
step? If this is not something you want to disclose on a website could you at least do so privately?
Steve2007-2-2 13:16:11