Legal Question in Business Law in Pennsylvania
trademark infringement?
I am an independent contractor in the fundraising business. I have been working with my accounts for approximately 5 years. They are
all under contract with me and have been. This past year I filed a DBA in the state of PA and started using another name. Although I am still only working with my regular accounts and have not signed any new business. I recently received a threatening phone call from another fundraising company on the other side of the state that... apparently is using the same name. They are claiming trademark infringement and that they are entitled to all of my profits. Since these accounts were already working with me for years, does it matter that my company name has changed? Its already established business. I'm just very curious if they have any case at all. I obviously plan on changing my company name once again, but am worried they are going to profit off of my hard work.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: trademark infringement?
You asked if if you what type of damages you may be subject to where there was a mistaken use of another party's mark.
You haven't provided enough information to make this determination. Even so, I am not a trademark specialist, but a business lawyer.
It seems that you may not have properly cleared your business name before use. Obviously this problem is remedied by now clearing the business name. You know that you have clearance in your localitity via the dba filing. But what types of other searches have you run? Did you Google the name? Use other engines? Did you check with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office? And di you document your work? How about the other company, do they have a trademark or simply a dba? What kind of protection do they have for their mark? And what kind of reputation do they have?
Most importantly is whether they can prove that your business profitted from the use of their protected mark. They can make any claim they want. If their mark is protected it may be fairly for them to enjoin you from further use of their mark. But to obtain damages they must prove not only that you infringed their protected mark but also that your infringement was the cause of your profits.
You seem to be on the right track by seeking to change your business name. But you do need the assistance of a business lawyer to help you with this matter. A business lawyer will be able to deal with any claims or correspondence regarding trademark claims more efficiently than you could yourself. I would be happy to help you with this matter.
Regards,
Roger Traversa
Email: [email protected]
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