Quick question - copyrights / trademark

[romanmaxi]

Guys I have a quick question.
I am starting a new company which will be producing different types of camera bags.
I have a certain name I want to call this company, and it's products, "Smartixan". My intention is to manufacture and sell our products ONLY within the US.
Now I saw that this "Smartixan" name, there is some small 1-2 persons company, in Hungary, that is already using this name, and they also manufacture and resell camera bags.
But their brand is registered ONLY in Hungary.

so my question, by registering "Smartixan" brand within in USA, may I face a problem in the future if that other "Smartixan" company ( from Hungary ) one day decides to sell in USA too?

by the way would be great to get some suggestions about where to register my trademark, thanks

 

[justalayman]

What do you mean as to suggestions as to where to register your trademark?


Do you mean what countries or do you mean the U.S. patent and trademark office?

 

[FlyingRon]

Well, if the markets NEVER overlap, you probably can survive. However, I would recommend since you it's quite possible either you will move into international sales or the Hungarian company will sell into the US. Not enough informoation here, but there's a strong possibility that the foreign mark has protection here in the US under the Madrid convention.

All US trademark registration must start with the USPTO. Information on that is available on USPTO.GOV. International info available at wipo.int.

 

[romanmaxi]

Thanks for the reply guys just one thing I don't understand

so how can I know if that brand is protected in the US or not ?

 

[quincy]

Guys I have a quick question.
I am starting a new company which will be producing different types of camera bags.
I have a certain name I want to call this company, and it's products, "Smartixan". My intention is to manufacture and sell our products ONLY within the US.
Now I saw that this "Smartixan" name, there is some small 1-2 persons company, in Hungary, that is already using this name, and they also manufacture and resell camera bags.
But their brand is registered ONLY in Hungary.

so my question, by registering "Smartixan" brand within in USA, may I face a problem in the future if that other "Smartixan" company ( from Hungary ) one day decides to sell in USA too?

by the way would be great to get some suggestions about where to register my trademark, thanks

Where are you located, romanmaxi? Do you live in the US?

You can (probably) use the name Smartixan as a trademark in the US if the Hungarian company has not registered this name in the US and does not market its goods or services in the US under the Smartixan trademark. All facts, however, must be reviewed and considered.

An example I have used before: Vernors Ginger Ale is a Detroit-made soft drink. The name "Vernors" is a US-registered trademark. If Vernors has not registered this trademark in Hungary and does not market their soft drinks in Hungary (I am not sure if they do or not), then an Hungarian company (even a soft drink company) could potentially register the name Vernors in Hungary and use it to identify their own goods or services. If Vernors decides to expand their soft drink market overseas and sell their ginger ale in Hungary, they can do this. However, if there is an Hungarian soft drink company that has registered the name Vernors to use as their trademark, then the Detroit Vernors would have to use a different name to market their ginger ale in Hungary. If they tried to market their ginger ale under their US trademarked name Vernors, they would infringe on the trademark rights of the Hungarian company.

I did a very very brief trademark search for Smartixan and found nothing registered here in the US, but you would need to do a better and more thorough search to make sure no other company is using the same or a similar name for the same or similar products you wish to market. Because registration of trademarks is not necessary in the US to gain trademark rights, a search of the federal trademark database will not reveal all trademarks in use.

Here is a link to the United States Patent and Trademark Office site that FlyingRon provided earlier, where you can conduct a federal trademark search:
http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/process/search

Trademarks can also be registered in states or, as I said, they do not need to be registered at all. The rights come from the use of the mark in commerce in the US, while in some other countries trademark rights come with the registration of the mark.

Sitting down with an attorney in your area would be wise and is advised. Good luck with your new company.

 

[romanmaxi]

Wow!

I didn't expected such detailed answer. thank you very much ! that has really helped.

 

[quincy]

Well, I simplified trademark law quite a bit here , but I am glad you found it helpful. Thank you for the thanks.

I recommend you sit down with an attorney in your area to go over in more detail all of your business plans, including the naming of your company, to better ensure your business does not have any legal issues that are best addressed prior to start up.

Again, good luck with your new business.