
Ask HN: Is it ok to use the same name as an existing service? - koolba
I had an idea for a side project&#x2F;service late last year and but haven&#x27;t had time to implement it yet (busy with $DAY_JOB). I did get the .com domain and the major social media properties for it. They were all unregistered so I registered them all. All of it is still empty as I haven&#x27;t started work on it.<p>I recently noticed that someone else has created the exact service I was envisioning with the exact same name. As the .com was taken (by me) they registered it with a different suffix.<p>Ex: I was planning foobarservice with the domain foobarservice.com and they registered (and went live with) foobarservice.blah.<p>I&#x27;d still like to pursue this idea and I really like the name.<p>Would it be wrong to do so? Answers for both the moral and (IANAL-qualified...) legal question would be appreciated.
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gojomo
IANAL, but:

If they're operating, they have a common-law trademark even if not a formally-
registered one. A same-named service of the same general functionality would
certainly cause consumer confusion, and possibly damage to their business,
putting you at risk of a legitimate lawsuit. Legally and morally, they won the
race to that name, so for trade purposes in that field of business, it's
theirs.

If you love the idea, there's surely another good name. Perhaps after studying
them, and noticing another area of differentiation, that can inspire another
name.

You might be able to sell them your holdings, but don't expect much and the
offer would have to be delivered very delicately so you don't seem like you're
ransoming off properties they already have a strong claim to (and that in
their mind, you might have acquired just to shake them down).

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koolba
I can't say I implemented much but I did design out what I'd like to build (in
a dated notebook) and pitched the idea a bit to get feedback.

I didn't acquire anything (domain, handles, etc) with the intent of a
shakedown (nor is it on my mind at all). I can tell from the domain
registration dates that they registered their alternative name after me.

My immediate reaction to seeing the competitor was validation, "whoa somebody
else had the same idea as me... I guess it's not terrible!"

I do really like the name (it's fairly catchy). I think a part of my
attachment to the idea comes from that. At the very least it the catchiness
keeps it in my mind.

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davismwfl
The bigger question is that even if you get around to launching is it worth
having the brand confusion and potential lawsuit.

Without trademarks currently it would be argued that they had the first
commercial release and were using the name commercially first. Therefore they
may come after you for creating brand confusion if you both start being
successful.

It may be a good name but it may not be worth it. You want to be focused on
solving problems not dealing with a fight over a name.

Just my 2 cents.

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acesubido
A question that I've always wanted to ask:

What if you were in an another country? How does that one play out?

~~~
davismwfl
I don't really know from a legal aspect as I am not an attorney.

From a digital marketing and branding perspective though, I generally advise
our ecommerce and SaaS clients to never utilize a name that might cause
confusion regardless of Country of origin for competitors. We have our own
offering coming out in Jan 2015 for a SaaS product and we ditched 2 awesome
names because we saw others using names either identical or way too similar
that could cause confusion. Better to be unique than have confusion,
especially if the idea that you and the other guy have are the same industry
or problem solution.

One point though, is that since you own the .com domain people will likely hit
your site first even when looking for the other guy as it is so common for
people to type .com over any other TLD. But, I still don't like using a name
that could be confusing.

The web is global as a whole, and so is branding when dealing with SaaS and
web properties.

~~~
dshanahan
This. I go this direction on all my brand and digital marketing consulting
advice - find another name and avoid confusion. You don't *want the people who
mistakenly type in .com and wanted the other product.

Execution is all that matters anyway - the strength of your brand will be
derived from the product and effort behind it.

~~~
davismwfl
Couldn't agree more, execution is all that matters, and getting distracted
over a taken/contested name is wasted energy.

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RubberSoul
Who owns the trademark?

~~~
gojomo
From the description so far, the other team – out trading in the market under
the name – owns a common-law trademark, at least in the US, even if they
haven't begun (or indeed never do) any formal registration.

