Been told to change my name!

[Material Girl]

HI

i registered my jewellery company in April.
I was contacted by an american jewllery site established in 2004, this morning telling me to cease and desist as our names are similar but not exact and her site address/name doesnt even have the word jewellery in it which mine does.

Do I have a legal leg to stand on or do I have to change my name?
Should i call the IR and see what they say?

Thanks

[squalid]

someone legal will probably be along soon

in the meantime, by kneejerk reaction would be to ask whether they have trade marked the name throughout the world

[www.infoebookstore.co.uk]

I have heard on other forums about this sort of practice. I think generally it is a random distribution to try and reduce their competition. It is probably just to scare you.

You are probably best seeking specialist advice on this matter. Intellectual Property Rights Lawyers. I was talking to one the other day who said they would offer some free advice on this sort of thing. I can't find his sodding card at the moment, but if i do I will post his details.

Good luck, don't give in.

[fisicx]

What happened when you registered the business name?

[Eagle]

Didn't you post this elsewhere about six months ago?

[stratigen]

Originally Posted by Material Girl

HI

i registered my jewellery company in April.
I was contacted by an american jewllery site established in 2004, this morning telling me to cease and desist as our names are similar but not exact and her site address/name doesnt even have the word jewellery in it which mine does.

Do I have a legal leg to stand on or do I have to change my name?
Should i call the IR and see what they say?

Thanks

This is nothing to do with the name of their website address.

In short, and in simplistic terms, if they've a global trademark, it's possible their "cease and desist" could be successful. If their trademark is US-centric, then it offers them no protection (at all) in the UK market.

If in doubt, talk to an IP specialist (note: I am not one!)

And, who are the IR ....

[Eagle]

Have a chat with Crossguard.

www.crossguard.info

[Material Girl]

Originally Posted by Eagle

Didn't you post this elsewhere about six months ago?

Nope, I wasnt up and running 6 months ago.

Thanks for that crossguard link, very interesting and confusing at the same time,Too scaredof the answer if I contact them to ask but, saying that I did read a bit on the site which blows this ladies suggestion out of the water.

Thanks.

[Infinity]

Hey!

I maybe able to help advise you with this, but I must stress I'm not a legal expert, I just have a fair amount of experience with business names and domain registrations.

Your website clearly states in the Terms & Conditions that you only operate within the UK, therefore will have no 'competition' issues with any American companies.

Secondly, the domain name poisonedapplejewellery.co.uk is registered to you and is the name featured on your site i.e. you haven't called your site something different to your domain address.

Thirdly, I have been unable to find any other websites active with a domain name or business name physically live on the Internet, including any relevant search engine results. This also reduces the possibility of your site attempting to 'pass-off' as theirs.

Finally, I have checked with the United States Patent and Trademark office and can find no relevant trademarks with references to poisoned apple. Therefore, unless his company is registered on Companies House as Poisoned Apple Jewellery, (which is highly unlikely, but you can check on Monday morning by visiting http://www.companieshouse.org.uk/WebCHeck/fastrack/ and searching their WebCheck service) you should have no worries regarding your domain address and can respond to the Cease & Desist notice accordingly, with emphasis on the points detailed above.

If you are still concerned, respond to the Cease & Desist requesting confirmation of the US or UK Patent/Trademark registration and/or UK Company Registration identification. You can also contact Nominet (the UK domain address Register via their website - http://www.nominet.org.uk/.

Hope this makes sense and helps?
Antony

[Joyous]

Originally Posted by Material Girl

Should i call the IR and see what they say?

Thanks

Don't waste your time ringing the Revenue, it's nothing to do with them. Sounds to me as if they're trying to scare you. Your names and similar, not the same and you're in a different country.


If having a "similar" name was a problem then all those Dixy Fried Chicken joints would have been shut down years ago.

Regards

Joy