Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[apurvjohari]

Two websites exist with very similar names.
The only difference is the use of \" - \"in one of them.
The owner of one of these websites claims that the name is trademarked and the owner of the other site  is infringing upon the trademark by using the name. Neither of these sites are
business related ,although the second of the two has a store in which goods related to the site can be purchased.

Does the owner of the first site have any actual right to what he terms 'common law trademark' despite that there is the small difference between the two names and he is not actually running  a business related to his site.

If the first owner has the right ;then  can under any conditions be he denied the right ( like the second website is older than when the first one obtained the trademeark).

kindly help

also please tell if there are any shortcomings in my question itself

[M. Arthur Auslander]

Dear Apurvjohari,

The law involved with domain names is separate from the the trademark law. Under the law of unfair competition things may be able to be done with domain names. Where trademarks have been established they may be used by the domain name holders to establish trademarks and by trademark holders to stop abuses by domain name holders.