

Ask HN: Trademark/LLC Dispute Questions - trdmrkthrowaway

Throwaway account here.  I have an LLC and Trademark registered as the same name.  I bought the .us version of my trademark domain.  I offered the .com owner of the trademark domain a few hundred bucks for his domain as it wasn't really being used.  His site is just an iframe to another site and isn't much better than a parked domain.  He turned down my offer saying he wanted 5 figures.  Seeing as how I am in the red and have been for awhile, I had no way of buying a domain that costly.<p>Just recently he posted a link that says "hosted by [MY TRADEMARK]."  Seeing as how I am the LLC/Trademark owner of that name, what are my courses of action?  Get a lawyer to send a letter saying to take down any references to the trademarked name?  Any advice is appreciated!
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ohashi
Disclaimer: not a lawyer

I think you're wasting your time. Odds are he owned it before you, they could
claim they have been using it longer. Although from my understanding they
couldn't come after you unless they have a formal trademark registration.
Furthermore, a trademark doesn't guarantee you exclusive use of a word in all
regions and business categories.

By harassing the owner of the .com your FU multiplier is going up, so if you
do become successful you will have to pay even more.

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trdmrkthrowaway
Thanks for the tips. He has owned the domain before me, but I have the formal
trademark. Both of us are US based. I understand I have to tread lightly. And
if I ever do become successful, I will pay him what he wants for it, if
reasonable. That being said, I am not trying to take his domain from him, I am
just trying to protect my brand.

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onetwothreefour
Not a lawyer.

There's nothing you can do because he got there first. "Formal trademark"
means nothing because unless you've trademarked in _every class_ and filed for
it before he registered the domain, there's little you can do. Even if you
came before, there's still little you can do without a significant amount of
money.

Talk to a lawyer if it's that big a deal, though.

------
brudgers
If it's not affecting your business, why not focus on things that are?

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trdmrkthrowaway
I am working on a big launch soon. Android, iPhone, etc and don't want people
getting the wrong idea about what my company does.

