Hi, I wonder if anyone can help?? I started a property lettings site for manchester in the UK in Jan 2007 and registered the domain www.0161lettings.com at the same time ...... however i had an email from a guy trading in the same area who registered the domain in April 2007 www.0161lettings.co.uk he says i have to stop trading as is applying for the trademark .......can he stop me trading even though i registered my domain first?? can he get a trademark for this name with me registering mine first?? Hope you can shed some light on this for me Thanks
if he doesnt have the trademark yet theres not alot he can do till he does get it but i doubt he will do much unless hes making a fair bit of money and you can always claim that he copied you and is profiting off your /site
Best to get the advice from an IP specialist solicitor. If your domain was registered first it sounds as if you are on safe grounds however it does depend if they were trading in the offline world with the name prior to your domain purchase - they have incorporated but not until 12/04/2007 according to companies house (though they could have been active prior to this). Could try a cheeky response of the fact that you were established first, that you consider their attempt at passing off as an infringement of your IP rights and you require the immediate ceasation of all activities, hand over of the domain etc otherwise you will seek legal redress with damages.
If he is applying for trademark in the UK there is a 5 month period from submission to actually recieving the trademark. This period is for anybody, such as yourself, that has a genuine reason to object to them being awarded the trademark. Here is a quote of the procedure undertaken by thecompanywarehouse.co.uk if you were to hire them to register your trademark And it's not cheap... The second stage is what you should be looking at specifically "It gives any people the opportunity to object and/or petition against your trade mark application." Perhaps contact the Patent Office and object? Hope this helps Laz
Thanks Everyone for your help ........ and such a quick response I wouldnt mind as this is a new venture i offered him to make an offer to buy the name and site but the guy just has such a bad attitude i dont want him to get away with this one ........ anyway thanks again
That probably wasn't a good idea. He could claim that offering to sell him the site was a clear display of your cybersquatting intentions. You'll have to remember to explain that in any legal disputes that arise over this.
Given the fact however, that the domain in question was registered three months before the .co.uk one, the term Cybersquatting couldnt really apply.
Subject to how the offer was worded it is unlikely to be an issue as the domain was registered prior to their existance
Oh, I guess I misread the first post. I thought he registered 3 months after the other guy. Then cybersquatting would only be an issue if you were profiting off of his established trademark as a name, and that takes us back to the main issue of discussion.