Trademarking

[Betty_Boop0564]

What is the name of your state (Ohio)

Say I have a website called nonstoptalk.com. I name my categories sport talk, music talk, fashion talk celebrity talk etc in 2009. Someone comes along and trademarks fashion talk and also uses the gimmick that I use on my site in 2011. What can I do about it?

 

[FlyingRon]

If you have a brand that is used in commerce (such as nonstoptalk or nonstoptalk.com appears to be here) you are starting to get trademark rights. You can assert trademark further by putting a TM symbol (or explicit comments, often in a foot note) that this is your mark. Do not use a ® at this point. You can then apply for registration on that mark (see uspto.gov) for additional protection.

The problem with your categories (Sports Talk, Fashion Talk, ...) is that they are both descriptive (which precludes trademark) and almost certainly already used in commerce all over the place (which again weakens your ability to get trademark rights) by other people.

I'm not sure what "gimmick" you're trying to protect.

The idea of the site is not protected by trademark or copyrights and doesn't seem novel nor non-obvious enough to be eligible for patent protection.