Legal Question in Business Law in California

my competitor had my GO-DADDY account suspened for 30 days, because he threatened legal action, and said my site was too much like his, or that i copied him, which i did not, there are some similar things, but my site is different. my question is how close can my website be to someone elses without it being plagiarism?, or breaking any laws,? and how can he have my site shut down without prooving there is foul play? in my opinion, he is trying to monopolize the industry.and chasing anyone and everyone out that he feels threatened by.


Asked on 3/05/10, 8:22 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
John R. Browning, Esq. [email protected] (949 234-6266)

A businesses' web site is its intellectual property, protected by copyright and trademark laws, as well as other business competition laws. Those laws provide broad protection, and any situation requires careful and specific analysis. If you "copy" the words on his site, there may be arguments as to copyright violations. If your trademarks are similar to his, there may be trademark violations. On the other hand, if he is competing unfairly by convincing third parties (like GoDaddy) that your are doing something you are not, he could be violating California's unfair business practices laws.

You can reach me for further information at [email protected]. Check out my blawgs (law blog) at http://johnbrowningesq.blogspot.com/ and http://rrjbusinesslaw.blogspot.com/.

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Answered on 3/10/10, 10:57 am


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