Trademark question for the url of my website. Easy question.

[Markthedude]

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

Missouri

Hi,

I have a website that I started that you can find at "ihopkchousing (dot) com"

There is a place called the international house of prayer located in grandview missouri and I was contacted by their public relations assistant today and I was wondering if my site violates any trademarks that the organization has.

You can find their site at "ihop (dot) org"

I do not use any of their logos and I have a Disclaiming up on the site that you can read once your one the site.

The PR said that they wanted to talk over the phone to me about the site and I have no idea why or for what reason they are wanting to.

So my last question is should I talk over the phone with her?


If you need more information on anything, please ask and I will get it for you as quickly as possible.

Thanks.

 

[divgradcurl]

There is a place called the international house of prayer located in grandview missouri and I was contacted by their public relations assistant today and I was wondering if my site violates any trademarks that the organization has.

Potentially. Your URL contains their trademark (I am assuming they are claiming IHOP as a trademark here, or ihop.org, or both).

I do not use any of their logos and I have a Disclaiming up on the site that you can read once your one the site.

This won't help you. There argument will be that because the URL itself contains their mark, any "confusion" will have already occurred before you get to the site and the disclaimers.

The PR said that they wanted to talk over the phone to me about the site and I have no idea why or for what reason they are wanting to.

So my last question is should I talk over the phone with her?

Probably wouldn't hurt to see what they want.

 

[TigerD]

Wouldn't they both be treading the same dangerous ground in regards to International House of Pancakes (which is what I thought of before the poster said prayer)?

 

[Markthedude]

Thanks for the reply's.

IHOP it self cannot be trade marked as there are many different IHOP's across the world ranging from the restaurant to the prayer facilities.

I do not know how to check trademarks up but if I could I would check to see if ihopkc is trademarked.

If I do talk on the phone is there anything I should watch for? I know that they cannot record the phone call without my consent. But is there anything else, such as any questions I should ask?

Thanks again.

 

[divgradcurl]

A couple of points -- you would be wrong about IHOP itself not being trademarkable.

Second, you can check for federally-registered trademarks here: Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS). But remember, that only lists federal registrations -- trademark rights arise through use in commerce, and a mark does not have to be registered for it to be valid and enforceable. There is no simple way to search for unregistered (common law) trademarks -- you just have to manually search, using Google, using libraries, etc.

Finally, with respect to the phone call, no need for the paranoia. Just see what they want first, and then try and figure out what you want to do. If they don't have a registered mark, and if your site has nothing to do with their ministry or whatever, you may not have a lot to worry about. If your site does have a lot of similarity to what is is they are claiming to have trademarked, they may have a case. Talk to them, see what they want. Don't agree to anything not in writing. After speaking with them, you may want to talk to a local attorney, who can review all of the facts of your situation and advise you accordingly.