What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California
I recently purchased a license for a community based web site in my area. Usually these sites use a city name, however our area is made up of a number of small communities which, collectively, are commonly called 'rim of the world'.
The name of my site is Support Your Local Rim Of The World Businesses - SupportRimoftheWorld.com We raise money for local charities through the sale of low-cost online business advertising.
Another popular website in our area is called rimoftheworld.net This site is primarily a news and information site with links to local information, weather, traffic, a forum and other features. They are supported through the sale of classified ads and banner advertisements. They have been online since 2003.
I have received a 'cease and desist' letter from them claiming trademark infringement.
A search of the USPTO site turns up no trademarks for 'rim of the world', 'rimoftheworld.net' or anything else I can think of.
My question is this- can they claim trademark protection for the use of a term that describes where we live? Many other entities use this term including a church, another website (Coldwell Banker Rim O' The World Realty, LLC - operated by a local realtor), the parks and recreation department, the school district, the high school, a historical society, a climbing club and others.
Since I am new, it would be possible and not terribly costly to change the name, however it is the only term that accurately describes my service area.
If they had chosen to call their site LakeArrowhead.net (the largest city in the area), they certainly couldn't claim that I couldn't use supportLake Arrowhead.com, could they?
In other words, can a web site owner claim trademark protection for the name of a city used in their site? How similar do the offerings of our sites need to be for them to claim confusion?
I apologize if I provided unnecessary information, but I could really use dome assistance here.
Thank you.
Ted
I recently purchased a license for a community based web site in my area. Usually these sites use a city name, however our area is made up of a number of small communities which, collectively, are commonly called 'rim of the world'.
The name of my site is Support Your Local Rim Of The World Businesses - SupportRimoftheWorld.com We raise money for local charities through the sale of low-cost online business advertising.
Another popular website in our area is called rimoftheworld.net This site is primarily a news and information site with links to local information, weather, traffic, a forum and other features. They are supported through the sale of classified ads and banner advertisements. They have been online since 2003.
I have received a 'cease and desist' letter from them claiming trademark infringement.
A search of the USPTO site turns up no trademarks for 'rim of the world', 'rimoftheworld.net' or anything else I can think of.
My question is this- can they claim trademark protection for the use of a term that describes where we live? Many other entities use this term including a church, another website (Coldwell Banker Rim O' The World Realty, LLC - operated by a local realtor), the parks and recreation department, the school district, the high school, a historical society, a climbing club and others.
Since I am new, it would be possible and not terribly costly to change the name, however it is the only term that accurately describes my service area.
If they had chosen to call their site LakeArrowhead.net (the largest city in the area), they certainly couldn't claim that I couldn't use supportLake Arrowhead.com, could they?
In other words, can a web site owner claim trademark protection for the name of a city used in their site? How similar do the offerings of our sites need to be for them to claim confusion?
I apologize if I provided unnecessary information, but I could really use dome assistance here.
Thank you.
Ted
