Potential Trademark infringement?

[skunker]

What is the name of your state? Texas

Hello,
Nice forum you got here. I am at a two-way street and not sure where to go from here. Here's my situation:

I am starting a webdesign business and decided to name it "Organik". I did a quick search at the US Patent and Trademark Office and found out that the word mark "Organik" has already been registered by an owner in Edinburg, UK. The service they provide is a type of computer software that is used for capturing and retreiving data.

I am in the US and my services/goods are in the website design/development sector.

Should I be concerned about any potential legal problems down the line? If I changed my name to "Organik Media", will that help clear up any potential confusion?

Thanks for any advice on this matter. I look forward to the responses.

 

[divgradcurl]

What is the name of your state? Texas

Hello,
Nice forum you got here. I am at a two-way street and not sure where to go from here. Here's my situation:

I am starting a webdesign business and decided to name it "Organik". I did a quick search at the US Patent and Trademark Office and found out that the word mark "Organik" has already been registered by an owner in Edinburg, UK. The service they provide is a type of computer software that is used for capturing and retreiving data.

I am in the US and my services/goods are in the website design/development sector.

Should I be concerned about any potential legal problems down the line? If I changed my name to "Organik Media", will that help clear up any potential confusion?

Thanks for any advice on this matter. I look forward to the responses.

This is a tricky question. The fact that the trademark owner resides outside the U.S. is really irrelevant to the issue of infringement, but it may impact how willing the company is to enforce their trademark in the U.S. -- although if they've gone through the trouble of obtaining a U.S. trademark, that may signal that they are ready and willing to enforce their U.S. trademark as well, so you never know.

There are two main problems for you. First, the term "Organik" is essentially a made-up word, so a trademark based on the word will be entitled to broader protections than a regular word, such as "Organic". Second, you are both in roughly the same field -- software and web design, while distinctly different industries, really aren't THAT different. Your best bet is to talk with a local attorney, who can review all of the facts of your situation and advise you accordingly. Based solely on what you've written, it sounds as if your usage of the term may invite trouble, and the addition of the term "media" is unlikely to change that. However, there may be other facts and issues not presented here that could change the analysis, so talking with an attorney would be adviseable.

 

[skunker]

Hi divgradcurl.
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I did originally use the name "Organic Media" and then dropped it when I realized that there is another webdesign company named "Organic" that resides in San Francisco. You said that no one can copyright common words, but would that one be common enough for me to go ahead and use? They do have a registration in the USPTO office.

Thanks again.

 

[divgradcurl]

Hi divgradcurl.
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I did originally use the name "Organic Media" and then dropped it when I realized that there is another webdesign company named "Organic" that resides in San Francisco. You said that no one can copyright common words, but would that one be common enough for me to go ahead and use? They do have a registration in the USPTO office.

Thanks again.

This isn't a copyright issue, this is a trademark issue. And I didn't say that you couldn't trademark common words -- you certainly can -- it's just that made-up words are given broader protections than common words. But even common words can be trademarked. Certainly if there is another web design company named "Organic Media" with a registered trademark, your use of the term "Organic" would almost certainly be infringing on their trademark.