Legal Question in Business Law in Idaho

The answer to your question is a remarkably unsatisfactory "It depends."

Your question invokes common-law trademark rights (unless you registered your trademark � not your business name (the "LLC" says you registered your business name as a business with your Secretary of State); your trademark � with either the State of Idaho's Trademark Office or the US Patent & Trademark Office?). Trademark is a first-come-first-served proposition in general, but there are some interesting exceptions to that, and several of those exceptions lie within the arena of common-law trademark rights and within the arena of geographical names.

You would be best served by sitting down with a trademark attorney who can, and will, ask the pertinent questions to see what, exactly, your rights, if any, may be. You're welcome to call my office � 518-371-4599 � to set up a phone appointment to discuss your matter.

THIS POST CONTAINS GENERAL INFORMATION AND IS INTENDED FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE, NOR DOES IT CREATE ANY ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP. FOR LEGAL ADVICE ON YOUR PARTICULAR MATTER, CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY.

This is a trademark issue. The essence of trademarks is to allow consumers the ability to distinguish the source of the products. Therefore the law prevents businesses from adopting similar names that would cause a likelihood of confusion among the consumers. But a finding a likelihood of consumer requires that the goods be the same or similar (generally, not always). If the goods sold between the two businesses are so dissimilar that consumers would not think they are from the same company then there is no likelihood of confusion. For instance, if your company sold energy drinks and the other business sold hunting gear then presumably customers would not confuse the two companies and both parties can keep their rights to use the marks.

But if the products are similar then generally the first user of the trademark would have rights to use the trademark over the other. Therefore, it is important to know who used the mark first, in addition to whether the goods are similar as to cause confusion.

You would need to consult with a trademark attorney about this. If the attorney believes you have good case then a cease and desist letter would be the appropriate first step to take.

Jason

http://jlaufirm.com

http://jasonlauip.blogspot.com