Trademark Dispute with Companies in Different Countries

[epmaniac]

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System: The following 5 messages were cut out of thread at: http://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4550104.htm [webmasterworld.com] by goodroi - 5:09 am on Mar 2, 2013 (utc -5)

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actually i registered a trademark in my country and started a site, the site grew very popular and yesterday i received a cease and desist letter from a US company, apparently I have their trademark (unbeknownst of me)in my url...

We are not in similar niche... still they are asking my domain to be handed over to them,,..

so i was thinking that i should start another site in the same niche with the same database, it might gain some strength meanwhile i try to fight my case with this big company...

do US trademark laws applies to countries outside of US also? I have moved my hosting away to a eastern european country and also have changed my registrar from godaddy to KEY-SYSTEMS GMBH.... thinking i may now have a better chance of not losing my domain, i am not a US citizen.

Why was i allowed to register a company and trademark if i was infringing one in USA?... it boggles my mind

do u guys think i stand a chance?

[goodroi]

You probably won't stand a chance if you are relying on strangers for legal advice. You should chat with a lawyer familiar with handling WIPO claims.

[epmaniac]

in my country, no one can handle WIPO... in my country internet fraud is not even recognized as crime

[Pjman]

What country are you from?

[epmaniac]

Iran,

I have put a disclaimer right next to my logo that we are in no way affiliated, sponsored or endorsed by this company... do you think thats gonna work?

Because, I researched a lot on internet, and i came to know that Trademark infringement only occurs if it causes confusion to the potential customers of the company.... this huge disclaimer right at the top of every page of my site is avoiding the confusion, proclaiming openly that we are not related to them, I think it should work,...

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[edited by: goodroi at 10:06 am (utc) on Mar 2, 2013]

[jo1ene]

Trademark infringment only applies if its a competing industry or product. Although deep pockets have more pull. For example, Sally's Hair Products can't sue Sally's Fashion Shoes just because of the word Sally's. However Sally's Fashion Shoes could sue Sally's Fashion Footwear.

I'm not sure how that works internationally.

And you do need a lawyer.

[sundaridevi]

If there is little risk of confusion, they probably have little chance of claiming the domain. If they have a registered trademark that would help them somewhat.

The greater issue is that Iran is not a signee of GATT (General Agreement on Tarifs and Trade). With respect to copyright, that means that the United States doesn't recognize Iran's intellectual property rights and Iran doesn't have to recognize those of the U.S.