FReeper Lawyers help needed: Website title has come under dispute

Myself | 4/15/02 | Invoman

[Swordmaker]

I am not a trademark lawyer, so I do not know for certain... however his Minnesota registered trademarks are

"Minnesota Fishing & Logo Design"

and

"Fishing Minnesota & Logo Design"

and those exact phrases are probably enforceable. Note that the Secretary of State of Minnesota has ALSO registered "Minnesota Fisheries", "Minnesota Fishing Federation" and Minnesota Fishing and Wildlife Museum". Their names are as similar to his as is yours. Is he also attempting to make them "cease and dissist"? I doubt it.

[Xenalyte]

When you say "title," do you mean the words that come up in the very top bar of the browser window, to the far left of the maximize/minimize buttons? Or is he talking about (for instance) the "title" such as "Free Republic"?

[invoman]

Title-as in 'Free Republic'

[Xenalyte]

So that's just the page header? The guy's a freakin loon. You can name your page just about whatever you want, and Minnesota Fishing is generic, unlike (say) IBM.

I agree with everyone else - you're in good shape.

[jude24]

That would only be valid in Nevada jurisdictions.

Consult a lawyer in your state.

[Greeklawyer]

There are two types of identifying marks.
Trademark and Servicemark
Is is selling a item to a service?
When you apply for a federal trade or service mark it is
with the intention that you will be using it in interstate
commerce within a specified period of time.
I believe five years.
If the mark is registered in a state then it is valid only in that state.
Does you site do business in that state?

The question becomes one of uniqueness.
If the words are being used as a descriptive then you can not
preclude others from using them
ie. ______ is a "fast car."
Your goal initially should be to find out who this is.
Do they have deep pockets
Did they file this letter because they believe to not send
a demand letter would be to waive their right to the name.
Does the state of minisota use the phrase "minisota fishing"?
How many other sites use the phrase minisota fishing.
The more normal and non-unique you can make the phrase the
weaker their claim is.

One last point, they may have a lawyer who convinced them
they could hijack the phrase by sending out the letters
Respond, and identify how you are not diminishing their claim.

hope this helps.

ps: is it just the phrase or is there a logo involved?

[Willie Green]

That would only be valid in Nevada jurisdictions.

This was not a state ruling.

It was a federal ruling by The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which has jurisdiction over Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Guam and Hawaii.

[Greeklawyer]

Do not listen to the nay sayers.
do your homework
What does the logo look like?
Be aware they may try to argue they have lost business to you.
Sounds like they just went on the web and searched for all
web matches for the words fishing and minisota.
give it a try.
DO NOT ROLL OVER without investigating first.

[invoman]

I have no logo. Here is my website: www.invominnesota.com

[Greeklawyer]

1) see about registering your name
2) put the (sm) or the phrase copyright at topy under name (year you started)
on the page. (this is in the trademark office handbook)
this will put people on notce for you.
3)The circle with the c means you have officially registed
the copyright in DC for use in intersate commerce
If you did this it would be very useful against your adversary.
4) Do you have other states, Georgia fishing,
Texas Fishing, Florida Fishing, etc.
5) Do folks like you and North Dakota Fishing have a "web ring"
of refering sites relatied to fishing?
6) Does this other person have a web site I could not find it?
7) name registration?

[invoman]

If the mark is registered in a state then it is valid only in that state. Does you site do business in that state?

Not at this time. I live in North Dakota. He is upset that I'm using "Minnesota Fishing" as the TITLE of my website.

He wants to monopolize the term on Google...

[invoman]

Yes, just the page header! He is upset that I titled the website "Minnesota Fishing", and claims I need to change it because he has a Minnesota Trademark on the phrase.

[invoman]

What I DON'T know is if I can sell advertising to people in Minnesota. I mean: I live in North Dakota, my business that I'm starting is NOT called "Minnesota Fishing", I want to sell advertising on a website that has a page header that says, "Minnesota Fishing".

What has yet to be answered is can I sell advertising to Minnesota businesses if I live in North Dakota, and my website is based out of North Dakota?

[invoman]

He has MANY websites. He's looking to monopolize the phrase "Minnesota Fishing" on Google...

My website is www.invominnesota.com

His is www.fishingminnesota.com

[tracer]

The questions you pose should be addressed by an attorney, and I don't even play one on TV. Hoping that this all works out for you...

[invoman]

What does the term "used commercially" mean?

[Greeklawyer]

1) In this case it sounds like to attract business

2) Sounds like You have the intent to expand your business.

3) What is this other person? Company, crackpot, businessman?

4) Sounds like he is really streaching. There must be other examples of people
using the same phrase.

5) You don't have the name registered, you are using the words descriptivly.
You should look into registering.

6) If you are going to resist, hire a lawyer to produce a
letter with all your findings and politly tell him to go
away

7) Any mark is only worth what people are willing do (pay $$) to defend.

8) I would be curious, about this guy's web site and the tags he uses.

[invoman]

I've got an election coming up. I'm running for city council.

I've decided the hassles with this dude aren't worth it right now. The guy plays a lot of stuff pretty dirty on the internet, hidden links, spamming Google and 'scary letters' like the one he sent me.

I did my homework- I added the word "ONLINE" to my title. According to Minnesota Trademark laws...I'm now distinct.

As soon as the elction is over, and I win or lose, I'll get back to working on getting some income from the website. It's MOSTLY a hobby website, but as I get more and more people visiting it, I'm sure people will want to advertise on it. I'll deal with that when it comes.

In the meantime I need to focus on my higher priority...winning this election.

Thanks for the help my friend!