Legal Question in Technology Law in California

Re: Competitor placing ''the'' infront of my domain address and re-directing bus

Nolo Press has a good article on cybersquatting which may be helpful. Go to:

http://www.nolo.com/lawcenter/ency/article.cfm/objectID/60EC3491-B4B5-4A98-BB6E6632A2FA0CB2

Re: Competitor placing ''the'' infront of my domain address and re-directing bus

Not copyright. You are seeking to enforce a trademark. The question boils down to the strength of your mark and your stomach for legal fees. But no, what they are doing is not legal.

If you registered the trademark, you have a good case and could maybe convince an attorney to take you on as a contingency plaintiff. If you have used it for years, but never registered it, you have a strong case on the merits, but you will likely have to pay your attorney by the hour.

Re: Competitor placing ''the'' infront of my domain address and re-directing bus

There are several issues involved with trademark being just one of them. Another is unfair competition. They are, essentially, misappropriating your business and using your advertising for their own benefit with the knowledge that you are out there spending money for this purpose and they are taking if from you.

Further, they may also be considered cybersquatting.

The real questions for you are how many clients are they diverting from you? What would those clients/customers have brought your company in terms of sales/payment? Finally, can you afford the legal fees likely to be incurred to move on the matter?

Finally, your recent incorporation is not likely to have an impact on this issue as whoever had the site likely transferred it to the corporation.

J. Caleb Donner

DONNER & DONNER

LEGAL WARRRIORS (R)

325 E. Hillcrest Drive, Suite 242

Thousand Oaks, CA 91360

Tel: 805-494-6557

Fax: 805-494-0990

email: [email protected]

website: www.legalwarriors.com

DISCLAIMER

This reply constitutes legal information for education purposes and does NOT constitute legal advice nor establish an attorney-client relationship. We will only represent you based on a written retainer agreement. Therefore, you should contact this office to discuss representation if you do want legal advice/representation.

Re: Competitor placing ''the'' infront of my domain address and re-directing bus

I generally agree with Mr. Walton's answer.

You didn't mention whether the name of your competitor's business is actually the same name they are using in these web sites. If not, then your case re: the domain names is very strong. If the competitor does have a name very similar to yours then your case is about the business name more than about the web addresses but is also very strong.

All of this assumes that you were using the name before the competitor started using it.

You ask whether your recent incorporation will "protect" you, but I don't see anything you need protection from. Incorporation protects investors from claims made *against* the business but is not relevant where claims are made *by* the business.