Legal Question in Intellectual Property in New Mexico

They stole my product

In 1995 I released a freeware program that was for the specific purpose of giving parents a valuable tool if their child should become lost or missing. Info and photos of the child could be placed on a simple floppy disk or emailed to the appropriate agency. I even applied for a govt. grant to help distribute it. It was a keyword on AOL, blurbs in newspapers and TV etc. Downloaded from all over the world and still available on some sites on the Net.

Now someone else has written a slightly different version, put up a web site and trade marked the name KIDDisk. Can they do that? They are also charging $20.00 per for the darn thing.

I was going to release another updated version, again as freeware. What are my rights to the name, if any. Can I go after this guy at all? He blatantly stole my idea (no recourse there, I know), the name of my product and as far as I'm concerned, my planned future for this product.

I emailed him identifying myself and he refused to answer. Do I have any recourse?

Thanks in advance

John


Asked on 1/20/00, 1:40 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lawrence Graves Coolidge & Graves PLLC

Re: They stole my product

Missing fact, but assumed: your product name was the same or confusingly-similar to KidDisk?

If so, you would need to assert your prior rights in the name. You may take comfort that there is no federal application or registration in the name KidDisk, so do not be concerned if the other party is using a "TM" symbol.

The trouble is that you will need to engage counsel to protect your rights. You would get your attorneys' fees as part of a successful infringement case under the federal trademark law (Lanham Act), but it is not easy to get a lawyer to take a trademark case on a contingent-fee basis.

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Answered on 1/24/00, 5:40 pm


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