TM Idea Being Used Overseas

[lcp]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? VA

Situation:

I have an idea for a lifestyle brand (name) to use initially for commerce purposes which I have already searched through the Basic Word Mark Search on TESS and do not see any listings. Good sign, right?

Well, further searching shows someone has the .COM domain name parked and for sale but worse than that, I found someone is using the name to collectively identify a group of DJ/Artists in another country under a .NET domain name.

Their "logo", "identity", and "purpose" is different than my vision but they did smack their "logo" on products for sale on their site and there is a copyright claim in the lower right hand corner (although when I do a search of the name in the Copyright catalog I get no registries).

Questions:

1) If I were to attempt to register the name here would I be a clear owner or could they come after me to claim I stole their "intellectual property"?

2) If the trademark filing does work in my favor would I have rights to the .COM domain name that is not in use or would I need to suck it up and purchase it?

3) Oh, and the overseas group has the Facebook page, too. Would I be SOL on that, too?



Thanks!!!! Been racking my noodle trying to search for these answers.

 

[HuAi]

1) What line of business are you going into, and what is the trademark you want to register? Do any business areas overlap with the DJ group you found?
2) In what geographic region do you plan to market your business? Does the geographic region overlap with the DJ group you found?
3) Copyrights apply to the non-utilitarian designs of the products, not to the marker's trademark, so that's not a concern for your trade mark decision.

 

[tranquility]

It depends. It depends on many things, including the facts. While I understand why you wouldn't want to disclose, unless you do all you're asking for is a summary of the law. Such things are already written and available on the web. If you really think your idea has profitable merit, see an attorney.