I've been notified by another company's law firm that my business name is infringing on their trademark. Most of my business is generated online and the domain name bears the name that's trademarked.
How can I change the domain name without losing business? Does anyone know if I can redirect the domain name to another site? Is that possible? Or do I have to give up the domain name altogether?
Thanks in advance.
Trademark Infringement Issue?
I see these situations quite often. Instead of looking at this as a huge problem, you can leverage it to be a great marketing opportunity.
First, you get the chance to pick a new and better brand. Second, you have a great excuse to contact everyone you know and thereby drum up more business.
This comes at a cost, but if you approach the other side appropriately they will usually gladly pay you. This can save them from the expense of having to sue you, and it gets them immediate and guaranteed results. They should give you a reasonable transition period. Everything is negotiable. -Steve
Trademark Infringement Issue?
Buy a new domain name and have your old one automatically forwarded to your new site. The redirect can be easily written in the HTML or may be provided with your software, depending on what you're using.
Inform you customers of your new website as well, so you will get less traffic through their site. Have your attorney draft a letter back explaining what action you are taking so that you are not infringing any longer...but make sure you consult your attorney.
Well if they have that name and have had it longer then you know..you may have to give it up. You can try to change it a bit. Even if you were to try to take it to another site the lawyers do have ways of finding you and it can be bad..so see if you can chance part of it and if you can let all your customers know and make sure you have your site redirect for the new e-mail to send your customers
Contact a trademark attorney definitely. You have a specific legal problem that's going to need specific legal assistance. There are no black %26amp; whites when it comes to trademark issues -- it's always gray! Each situation varies from the next, so honestly, looking for advice in a forum such as this is not going to be specific enough to what you need.
Best of luck to you!
