Legal Question in Business Law in California

It is difficult to respond to you question without more information with regards to the url name at issue and the nature of business you and the current url holder are pursuing. The main issue that will come into this analysis is Trademark law. I would recommend that you consult with a trademark attorney to review the facts of the situation.

Kind regards,

Jim

Well, first of all, the law starts from the notion that trademarks aren't url's and that url's aren't trademarks. Without more, one party can hold a url that closely resembles another party's trademark, and vice-versa. However, this basic principle has some very important limitations, bolstered by a couple of federal statutes aimed at "cybersquatting" (tying up a url that some well-established company is likely to want) and "cyberpiracy" (getting and using a url that deceives others, e.g. on-line shoppers, into believing they are dealing with a big well-known company when in fact they are in touch with a tiny imitator). If you look up these terms on a search engine, you'll be able to do some research. However, I'm quite doubtful that starting or acquiring a small, non-famous company would give you any leverage to acquire the url by a hostile legal process. Your best bet is probably to buy the rights to the url from the registered owner.