Legal Question in Business Law in North Carolina

Registered trademark

I have a small lawn maintenance busienss in NC that I call ''The Turf Pros'' I resgistered the assumed name with my county and formed an LLc calle The Turf Pros Group, LLC. I did the TESS search to see if anyone was using this and it came up with nothing. Yesterday, i did a google search for ''The Turf Pros'' and it had only 4 hits. two were nothing related, but two were for a landscaping business in Michigan that had one of there divisions called The Turf Pros. What scared me was that they had a registered mark after the name. I did the TESS again and still no hits. I called the Patent and Trademark office and they said there were no black and white guidelines about this and that I should consult an attorney. We wanted to make a website for our business using this name, which would then make it noticeable to the folks in Michigan if they happened to look. Should I be worried. Any advice?


Asked on 4/03/08, 7:29 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Kirby Law Offices of John M. Kirby

Registered trademark

That is a good question, and Trademark law can be very complicated.

You may of course want to consult with an attorney who specializes in "intellectual property" and this sort of issue. In general, however, it appears that the Michigan business is so far away (or there is not "geographic proximity"), that your use of that name should not be a problem, regardless of their "registered" mark. Some cases addressing this also refer to "market penetration," and it seems that your markets do not overlap. You may want to Google these phrases, or consult with an attorney, for more guidance.

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Answered on 4/03/08, 10:46 am


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