Does anyone have an idea how this is done? I have discovered one of my websites has the same name of a small-time PDA application that a company has developed. They developed this program before I launched my site but I wasn't aware it existed until now. My site isn't about their program though - it's an information site on the same topic as their program. Obviously I would like to secure my rights to my domain name and to use the name on my website before they may do.. any ideas folks? I really don't want this snatched off me in the future. The thought of getting the site out of the sandbox and earning plenty only to be shot-down by this company makes me feel queezy! Pete
Trademarks have to be registered by country for most parts of the world. I know that's the case all over Europe and North America, so you'd have to check with the trademark authority in each individual country to get it taken care of. Wish I wasn't the bearer of bad tidings, but it's the way things work in trademark law. (I used to handle marketing for a worldwide company and had to deal with this myself. What a pain!!)
There are Trademarks and Registered Trademarks. The first person to use the trademark establishes their rights to that type of usage. Although filing for a registered trademark establishes your usage date in stone, it technically isn't any stronger than a company which doesn't register it. First to use, continue to use, owns the rights to the name provided it isn't a generic term that cannot be trademarked. If the name is trademarkable - then the company that first used it owns the rights. If you go out and try to register a trademark that someone else used first, they have a six year period to contest your usage and obtain the trademark for themselves. They will need to prove that they used the name first and that your usage is similar (same type of sector). They could then take the domain name from you. The fact that you didn't know about the usage doesn't matter at all. Before you use a name, it is your obligation to check for any prior usage. This isn't easy and prior usage searches start from several hundred dollars and still are not 100%. If you think that you could file for a trademark and don't think they will find out about it during that six year period and contest it, then if you were granted a trademark, you could continue to use the name even though you were not the first to use it. You could not stop prior usage i.e. the company first to use it could continue. When you file for a trademark, a notice goes out to intellectual law firms to put them on notice of a proposed trademark. It's like waving a flag and asking for someone to contest it. For a couple of thousand dollars, you could file for the trademark and hope the company is so small that they don't notice - but I wouldn't do it. Six years is a long time.
I think mjewel's information may be US specific since it certainly doesn't apply to the UK. When you apply for a trademark in the UK, there is a long drawn out affair that involves several stages.Once your application is submitted, it can be contested up until the point it is published. The patent office aim to publish "90% of applicants within 8 months". If it is contested successfully within this time, you will fail to register the mark. If you do manage to register the mark, there is a further 3 month period where someone may formally contest it.If it is contested you may (if you wish to) enter into negotiations with the person contesting your registration that may last up to a maximum of 12 months but may be cancelled at any time. It'll cost you a fair bit to get it done, but only you know if it is worth the investment. All the information you need it at http://www.patent.gov.uk
Yes, I was talking about US Tradmark law. While there is the "Madrid Protocol" I believe ICANN looks to US Trademark law for domain name disputes - although I could be wrong.