Re: Re: Trade marks vs. Similar Corporate Names and URL's

Subject: Re: Re: Re: Trade marks vs. Similar Corporate Names and URL's

Comments:
: : : In June of 1999 I formed a Corp. in Delaware called Web Domains, Inc. (not real name). : : : A foreign corp and its US subsidiary (non-Delaware) have the corporate names of WebDomains International Limited and WebDomains USA Inc. They respectively own/operate the sites www.webdomains.com and webdomainsusa.com (again not the real names). : : : Their business is domain name registration; my corporation's business is the sale (and sometimes developement) of domain names owned by the corporation. : : : The parent international company had a word mark on WEBDOMAINS that was abandoned in August 1999. In October 1999 I registered the domain webdomainsinc.com. In November I went live with the site. This week I received a letter from their lawyer stating that I infringed on their mark of WEBDOMAINS (refiled in Jan 2000 by the US subsidiary) and upon the mark WEB DOMAINS that their lawyer reports that they have pending. The WEBDOMAINS word mark relates to the service of registering names. They want me to stop using the name and mark WEB DOMAINS and transer ownership of the domain webdomainsinc.com to them. : : : Seems a little harsh to me as my corporation is merely trying to sell names that it owns and refer browsers to sites that it has developed using a site that is its legal corporate name, and never uses the combined form of WEBDOMAINS or WebDomains. : : : What are my options? Is it worth fighting? Registering? Opposing? I would think that I should have at least common law rights to the Web Domain, Inc., and webdomainsinc.com : : : : Robert, without commenting on your specific information (as I do not have all the facts), you should note that -- the mere fact that someone has abandoned an application to register a mark does not mean that aren't still using the mark (thereby developing common law rights)... : : Mark Lebow : Dear Mark, : No matter how you slice it he has to do something or quit. He is on a sawhorse. : M. Arthur Auslander : Auslander & Thomas-Intellectual Property Law Since 1909 : 505 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10018 : 212-594-6900, fax 212-244-0028, aus@auslander.com : ELAINE's Workshop (sm) : E arly L egal A dvice I s N ot E xpensive

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