Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Re: Internet trademark infringement

You may have several (cheap and expensive/fast and slow) ways to get them to stop. It depends on the facts. Feel free to call me on this; this is what I mainly work on.

Re: Internet trademark infringement

You need a good trademark attorney to write a very strong cease and desist letter threatening to sue for trademark infringement.

Re: Internet trademark infringement

You need a trademark attorney to help you in several regards:

1. You should register the trademark

2. You should send a Cease and Desist to the other company

3. You should look carefully at your purchase agreement. If the seller knew of this infringement, you may have the basis for claims (like fraud) against them.

Good luck,

Re: Internet trademark infringement

My colleagues have all provided very sound advise, but I would add one thing.

If you are primarily interested in getting ownership of the domain name quickly and moderately inexpensively - you might be able to just file a Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Proceeding (UDRP for short) with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) or National Arbitration Forum (NAF). I would have to know more information, but it might be possible. The cost is far, far less than a full-fledged lawsuit, and results can be achieved in as little as 2 months rather than the many months/years of a lawsuit.

If you would like to discuss further, please contact me.

Re: Internet trademark infringement

I'm somewhat surprised that my colleagues haven't mentioned the concept of "cyberpiracy," which includes the knowing redirection of Web traffic intended for a competitor, and which is made illegal under a specific federal law, 15 USC 1125, part of the trademark law.

As I understand 15 USC 1125, it gives some protection to the owner of either a registered or a common-law trademark. Of course, if your company name is a registered trademark, your case is stronger.

There are some additional questions and issues to be analyzed before deciding that you have protection under this law (passed in 1999) or under prior more general unfair competition law, but I think this is a fruitful arera for further research by your future lawyer and you.