Trademark of a Similar Logo

[J5ONFIELD]

Hi law experts,

1. Is it infringement to use Teamxbox360.net and make a unique logo for a online ecommerce business?
2. Would it be possible for Teamxbox.com IGN inc. "large media conglomerate" to sue me and take my website?

Teamxbox360.net would be an online xbox modding store (100% legal). Teamxbox.com is an xbox information media corporation. I've registerd the Teamxbox360.net domain back before Teamxbox.com got really huge. IGN Inc. owns the Teamxbox360.com domain also. Team, xbox, 360 - all very general words.

Thanks in advanced for any help clearing this up?

Thanks,
J5ON

[lwpat]

2. Would it be possible for Teamxbox.com IGN inc. "large media conglomerate" to sue me and take my website?


Yes. They can make you stop using the name regardless of when you registered the domain name. What controls is when they trademarked their name.[/quote]

[Eric E. Willison]

Whoever registered or started using the trademark first will have rights superior to yours. Geographic location of the use of the proposed mark will also be relevant.

While many entities can use the same mark within different industries or product lines, it appears from your description that your proposed mark and their proposed mark deal with the exact same industry and product line, that of xbox computer gaming.

The safest thing to do would be to hire someone to do a trademark search so that you can find everyone else who is using that mark or a similar mark before you go investing a bunch of money in your proposed mark.

The key test in all of this is whether a consumer looking at your proposed mark might get confused as to the origin of the goods or services you are trying to provide.

You also have to remember that just because you have your mark registered does not mean that your proposed mark will trump everyone else's proposed marks. There are lots of cases involving two parties who have both registered their marks, thinking that by registering, they are resolving all possible conflicts regarding their marks. Registration is often the start, not the end of the process.