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FReeper Lawyers help needed: Website title has come under dispute
Myself
| 4/15/02
| Invoman
Posted on 04/15/2002 4:35:32 PM PDT by invoman
Today I received a threatening e-mail:
< it has come to our attention that you are using the name "Minnesota Fishing" for your website. That is a registered trademark (registration # 29748) owned by ______.
Please remove the name immediately from http://www.invominnesota.com/ and any other materials or mediums where you may be using it, or action will be taken to the full extent of the law.
You are responsible for any damages and any deceptive practices damages as well as monetary awards to World Wide WebResults the courts may order due to your misleading use of this trademarked name.
. You are further instructed to notify anyone whom you have done business with, using the "Minnesota Fishing" trademark, to inform them that it is owned by World Wide WebResults and that you are not in fact affiliated with the "Minnesota Fishing" Trademark in any way.
You have 3 working days to comply or further action will be initiated.
Sincerely,
___________>>>>
TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; US: North Dakota; Your Opinion/Questions
KEYWORDS: trademarkwebsite
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So, my question is:
Does this guy have a leg to stand on? I live in a different state. TESS shows nothing.
I told him to get a lawyer...
Any FReeper lawyers willing to guess at a good response to this?
1
posted on
04/15/2002 4:35:32 PM PDT
by
invoman
To: invoman
Not a lawyer, but my stepson had the same thing happen to him concerning the name of his musical band who had a website for booking information.
He wrote a sarcastic email back, and never heard from them again. This may be real, or it may be a hoax!
2
posted on
04/15/2002 4:41:22 PM PDT
by
ladyinred
To: sinkspur
bttt
3
posted on
04/15/2002 4:41:28 PM PDT
by
invoman
To: ladyinred
It's from the owner of a competing website....
HE's real, but his claim is suspect. I believe he MAY have a LOGO registered in Minnesota...doesn't apply to me...???
4
posted on
04/15/2002 4:43:01 PM PDT
by
invoman
To: invoman
He's also using a Federal 'R' with a circle around it...but he doesn't have a Federal Trademark as far as I can tell...
5
posted on
04/15/2002 4:44:48 PM PDT
by
invoman
To: invoman
Well, I'm not a lawyer, (yet) but I have a bad feeling...
When did you start using your name. Was his trademark registered afterwards? If so, can you prove you were using the name before.
Also 'Minnesota Fishing' sounds generic. I wonder how many other people are using it.
My advice, get a lawyer who works with intelectual property... ASAP.
6
posted on
04/15/2002 4:46:45 PM PDT
by
JAWs
To: invoman
The 'Federal R' means a copyright- a different form of IP.
7
posted on
04/15/2002 4:47:21 PM PDT
by
JAWs
To: JAWs
He was using the NAME of the website first. But as you see....it's a pretty generic term.
I can't find anything that implies he's registered anything. He MAY have a logo registered in Minnesota....but a logo isn't enough to shut me down.
8
posted on
04/15/2002 4:50:28 PM PDT
by
invoman
To: JAWs
"My advice, get a lawyer who works with intelectual property... ASAP"
That's just it...why should I spend $500 to check out to see if some loser sent me an e-mail that is not true?
Wouldn't the first thing to happen is a letter from HIS lawyer? Cease and decist?
9
posted on
04/15/2002 4:52:49 PM PDT
by
invoman
To: JAWs
That's right. I'm not an IP lawyer, but my understanding is that if you can show you were using the domain prior to the institution of the TM, you're free to continue using it. It's not that difficult to check out TM No. 29748 to determine when it was filed. These things might be a bit costly so if you have any trouble, please let me know via FReepmail. Lexis-Nexis is a handy source for such information.
Good luck.
To: fire and forget
It's not a domain name dispute...obviously my domain name is different. It's the TITLE of my website he is claiming to be in violation.
11
posted on
04/15/2002 4:54:18 PM PDT
by
invoman
To: invoman
When did e-mail become an acceptable means for delivering legal papers?
Drew Garrett
12
posted on
04/15/2002 4:56:09 PM PDT
by
agarrett
To: fire and forget
I knew of a burger place that was called Whopper Burger for 50 years before Booger King noticed them.
They could not afford to fight and changed the name.
13
posted on
04/15/2002 4:57:10 PM PDT
by
Dinsdale
To: agarrett
Exactly!
The guy is already scamming people all over Minnesota...
It's no surprise that he is trying to shut me down. My question is:
Can the TITLE of my website be in violation of anything? I don't see a Federal Registration in TESS...so I think the guy is just trying to scare me off.
14
posted on
04/15/2002 4:59:28 PM PDT
by
invoman
To: invoman
I'm not a lawyer, either, but I have had encounters on both sides of this issue. (1) The trademark laws are only to prevent confusion in the marketplace, so if you are selling raincoats marked Minnesota Fishing, and he is selling fishhooks marked the same; no one would confuse the two products, and so he doesn't have a case. (2) If you used the mark nationwide before he did, then it doesn't matter if he registered it with the Feds, it is still yours and he has to back off.
15
posted on
04/15/2002 4:59:31 PM PDT
by
Aegedius
To: invoman
For all:
My domain name is www.invominnesota.com, I TITLED the name of the website "Minnesota Fishing".
HE claims I'm violating HIS trademark. I can't find any proof of that.
16
posted on
04/15/2002 5:02:48 PM PDT
by
invoman
To: agarrett
Bingo. He's full of crap. Dare him to begin legal action. He will stop bothering you.
To: agarrett
To: invoman
Theoretically, yes. You can be violating his trademarks.
19
posted on
04/15/2002 5:08:51 PM PDT
by
JAWs
To: JAWs
"C" in a circle indicates copyright.
"R" in a circle indicates registered trademark.
"TM" indicates common law trademark.
20
posted on
04/15/2002 5:09:08 PM PDT
by
Cboldt
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