Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Nevada

Re: Trademark cease letter

I received a letter from a company saying that I am in violation of their trademark. My business is called Aliante Vision and their trademark is ''Aliante''. My business has existed for 2.5 years. I am on the north side of town and they are at least a good 30 min away from me on the southeast side. They say that they also provide medical services, but their name is by no means easily recognizable, even locally since this is the first time I've ever heard of them. Their actual business name is North Valley Enterprises, LLC which doesn't even contain the ''Aliante.'' I only used the name ''Aliante'' for local recognition and community ties since my office is located within a large master plan community called Aliante. There's all kind of businesses with ''Aliante''. There's Aliante Dental, Aliante Casino, Aliante Cleaners, etc. The community is so large that Aliante is synonymous with the name of a city, practically. Do I have anything to worry about? What should I do?

Thank you for any advice.


Asked on 5/20/08, 5:00 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Mitchell Interaction Law

Re: Re: Trademark cease letter

"Aliante" is used for many trademarks (golf balls, bottled water, and so on), and added to the fact that it is the name of your town, my guess is that consumers in Aliante generally know that not all businesses by that name are the same company. I suggest you go to the US patent and trademark office site (uspto.gov) and search for the name of the company that sent you the letter (or by the TM number they gave in the letter) and, assuming they are registered, determine when. If you were using it first, it helps. If your line of business is sufficiently different that their customers would not confuse their business with yours, so much the better.

Next, look for a trademark lawyer in your state to assist you in (1) registering your own mark and (2) determining how best to respond to the letter. The lawyer can assess the strength of the case, and what response is best -- anything from a "get lost" response to changing your own company's name, depending on the facts. I would not rely on Internet advice alone for this one.

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Answered on 5/20/08, 6:30 pm


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