Legal Question in Business Law in New York

Re: Right to like kind business with domain similar to mine

unless you have registered the names or have a contractual exclusivity it may be difficult to stop

Re: Right to like kind business with domain similar to mine

Usually disputes of this nature turn on the ownership of trademarks. If your company has a trademark in the name (just calling a company a certain name does not automatically provide you with trademark rights), you may be able to do two things: (a) pursue a trademark claim (and possibly other related claims, such as unfair competition) in court or (b) file a domain name dispute under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) procedures. Unlike court litigation, UDRP is typically less expensive, speedier and self-executing. In any event, there is always a possibility of reaching a settlement with the other party without going to litigation through negotiations.

For your information, in order to prevail in a UDRP proceeding, the trademark owner must show:

(1) that the trademark owner owns a trademark (either registered or unregistered) that is the same or confusingly similar to the registered second level domain name;

(2) that the party that registered the domain name has no legitimate right or interest in the domain name; and

(3) that the domain name was registered and used in bad faith.

Obviously, not knowing the facts of your case, I cannot evaluate how good your claim is. If you are concerned about the other company suing you first, the legal analysis would be similar, but you may need to take other, defensive steps in anticipation of litigation.

If you require legal consultation, you may call my offices for an appointment. This reply is in the nature of general information, is not legal advice and should not be relied upon as such.

Re: Right to like kind business with domain similar to mine

I concur with Bill. My suggestion is to retain a trademark attorney to both be sure your name and business is appropriately registered and to assert your claim to exclusive right to use, if you are eligible. There are many nuances in this field and you need an expert to assist you.