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| Subject - similar name lawsuit | |
| zol_man |
guys, sorry, but i will have to remove the post on advise of the lawyer. |
| John A. Peters | You are registered and he is not, but he has been in business longer, right? Hmmm. |
| kbsparky | Sounds like you have different company names, yours identifying "electric" as your trade, while his does not mention what trade. Since you are registered with the state, and he is not, I figure that he is blowing a bunch of hot air.  |
| zol_man | gone |
| John A. Peters | I think you should "stone wall" the whole thing. You know "I understand that there was some talk about moving that stone wall, and maybe it is a good idea, let me think abut it" and of course nothing happens. Also I hope he uses caller ID so you can avoid his phone calls. |
| MONOLITH | I think this is actually very simple. I went thru this as a corporation, I would assume it's the same for any business registration. Take note of this..... If the state allowed the name registration, you're fully legal. He can do nothing. He cannot sue. Tell him if he wants to sue someone, he needs to sue the state. Wish him good luck, and hang up on his ass. State's have strict rules about similar name registrations. If they said you're okay, then you're okay. |
| zol_man | would you guys fight it even if you were a startup? |
| John A. Peters | What can we learn here? Did your original search turn not turn up Anytime Inc, or did it show up and it looked like it was not in the same field? You say you are each in your own area yellow pages exclusively - good. These two issues make me think it would be hard to prove you are hurting his business at this time. In the future are you planning to grow in scope? That six mile distance is not very far. How much is your investment in the name Anytime Electric, in dollars and hours? Do you have a second name in mind? Eveready Electric? Previously both lawyers said it was legal. Lawyers like to look at the worst case, that is part of their job. Maybe add "Not associated with Anytime Inc" in your advertising. How old is he? How big is his company, how many men? (Talk to them) How deep are his pockets? Any complaints with the agencies? If he is a one man shop or if he does all the bids he most likely will not be able to grow much unless he joins ESI :-) Maybe you should join ESI? :-) Just trying to open up avenues, and yes I did not answer your question. Find out these things and then we can advise you a bit better. We are with you. |
| MONOLITH | What state do you live in? I'm not buying this completely until I see the state's statutes on business registration. Unless you've left out some details? What type of business are you? Corp, sole, or partnership? Perhaps your state handles proprietorships differently than corps, but I doubt it. What type is he? Is he also doing electrical, or some other business? I'm not sure you mentioned that. The only time I had a problem (in pennsylvania) is when I first started, I was going to be 'XYZ Corporation', and there was also an 'XYZ Company'. I needed more of a difference than just 'Company vs corp'. As soon as I added XYZ Electric Corp, the word electric was enough to differentiate us, so it was fine. I still stand firm that if the state allowed both names to be registered, that should be all you need as a defense. I still do not believe he can sue you. States have very specific procedures for this, if they allowed both names to go thru, then it's legal. Something is not right with the story here. |
| MONOLITH | quote: The registry monitors names, and if yours was too similar to someone else's, it would disallow it. The word electric in your name made the difference, just like with my situation. Case closed in my opinion. Seriously, just blow the guy off. Like someone else said "some problems are fixed by ignoring them until they go away". If the guy actually takes you to court, which I doubt, I don't think he's got a leg to stand on. You have the State of Michigan on your side. If he just keeps whining, ignore his calls until he gets tired of it and stops calling. |
| wilkie | It would be best for you to consult with a copyright/trademark attorney. State registrations and/or incorporating regulations do not amount to a hill of beans. There are many factors that determine ownership of the name and/or logo. Federal trademarks would be the relevant topic. For Example: it doesn't matter if a McDonald's restaurant is registered with your state or not, try something similar, and you can imagine the results. I am not implying that you are in the wrong, or exposed. I am saying I would consult an expert. That expert specializes in only this category of law. |
| zol_man | well, he just called this am to say that he is going forward with the lawsuit. i'll keep you posted. |
| John A. Peters | Scare tatic? If you can hold off on the graphics, then wait for him to get real. . . |
| zol_man | going to call the graphic paople to see if they can trademark my co name. might help to solidify my position. |
| zol_man | sorry about the sloppy typing, as i just type and then hit send. otherwise each entry would take me 30 min to type with 2 fingers. |
| MONOLITH | quote: Getting a trademark is done thru the federal government, not your graphics people. While Wilkie's advice to talk to an expert is certainly correct and the thing to do, I'm not ready to poo poo on state name registration laws. It's not like they're just there for nothing, and carelessly unsupervised. They were enacted for this very situation you're experiencing. In my humble opinion, a state government would not endorse and willfully contribute to an act that would result in lawsuits. He can have "anytime Inc." and you can have "Anytime Electric Company". The law says so. At least in my opinion. But Wilkies right, I'm no expert.  |
| MONOLITH | quote: The disclaimer is not to tell you "choose carefully or risk being sued". The disclaimer is recommending you do a name search so you don't waste the state's time, and yours, submitting a name that gets rejected because it's already taken. The state will tell you if the name is allowable or not, and I assume allowable means exactly that. At least that's how it is in my state. Maybe your state is different. |
| zol_man | I have been told by my attorney that this could go down to who has deeper pockets. While on the state website for name registration today i noticed that he registered another name as well. anytime electrical and general contracting. The kicker is that it was just done last month. |
| MONOLITH | He very obviously did this just to mess with you and bolster his case. When did you register your name "anytime electric"? It was before he just registered this new business name of his, correct? Well, he may be simply shooting himself in the foot. Think about it... IF he had "anytime", and he wanted to sue you for having "anytime electric", then it should follow that; YOU should then be able to sue him for having your name in his new one. What's good for one is good for the other, see? Personally, I don't think either one of you has a case, based on what I've already said. But he looks pretty dumb if he wants to sue you, then turns around and does the same thing to you. I think you actually have more of a case if it goes to court than he does. You started "Anytime Electric" He already had a company with the word anytime in it. ok, so what. But then he turns around and purposely takes your full name 'anytime electric' and simply adds 'general contracting' to slip it thru the state. Clearly he's the one abusing the system to steal your name now. He's committing the very act he's sueing you for (supposedly), and his act is more blatant. |
| John A. Peters | I hope he does not read here. Any news? |
| MONOLITH | zol_man reported an another site we share that the guy served him papers. I guess he's suing afterall. For legal reasons any further conversation about it will be limited. I still think it's a bum deal.
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| zol_man | guys, i can say that i am not rolling over on this one! the trademark attorney is going to answer the paperwork with some of my own. talk about a money drain!!!!! not return on these expenses:( |
| MONOLITH | Hey Scott/Jimmy... Maybe it's best to just delete the the thread at this point; Zol_man has already removed most of his text, so to a new reader the whole threads a mystery anyway. |
| zol_man | i agree. maybe i can do this since i posted the topic? |