A competitor setup an ecommerce shop with a similar domain name

[Habtom]

A competitor started an ecommerce business with a smilar domain (my domain plus "s"). I met him over the phone several times, and what he wanted was the domain and didn't care about anything else. We are also offering similar items to a very restricted area.

What could be his aims? How would I deal with him?

Habtom

[Essex_boy]

Ignore him. Next time buy the singular and plural variations of your domain.

[RailMan]

Sounds like he's "passing off" - go see a lawyer

[hp11]

What could be his aims?

Simply put - to capitalize on what he sees as an opportunity to make money. I don't know your sites rankings, but if you have a good rank and he optimizes his pages well enough, his site can battle yours for the same or a higher position.

How would I deal with him?

Does your business have any registered patents or trademarks? If so, your lawyer can send a cease and desist letter. If not, I would contact an attorney with some cyberspace knowledge and see what your options are for your specific situation.

[moneymancn]

Ever seen two restaurants side by side? Sure.It happens all the time offline so just get better at what you do and think about creating a customer loyalty program.Also they can also"mistakenly" end up in your "restaurant" whilst looking for his so it's not all negative!

MM

[RailMan]

>>Does your business have any registered patents
>>or trademarks? If so, your lawyer can send a
>>cease and desist letter.

you don't need registered trademarks to take action against a company that's passing off as your company - i'm sueing another company for doing exactly that.

>>Ever seen two restaurants side by side? Sure.It
>>happens all the time offline

you will get say spanish and italian restaurants next door to each other, with different signage, different names, different styles etc

what you won't get is someone opening a red and yellow fronted burger bar called MacDonald right next door to the world famous red and yellow fronted burger bar called McDonalds ....... that would be passing off and would end up in court.

[hp11]

you don't need registered trademarks to take action against a company that's passing off as your company - i'm sueing another company for doing exactly that.

Railman, are you saying that you still have a case, not just the ability to sue, even if your corporate name is Acme, inc. and your domain is not Acme, inc. - it's BlueWidgets.com and my business name is 123, inc. and I compete with you using Blue-Widget.com?

I know that sueing someone isn't the issue, but actually winning the case is. In this scenario, with no patents or trademarks, how can the case actually be won?

[RailMan]

>>Railman, are you saying that you still have a
>>case, not just the ability to sue, even if your
>>corporate name is Acme, inc. and your domain is
>>not Acme, inc. - it's BlueWidgets.com and my
>>business name is 123, inc. and I compete with
>>you using Blue-Widget.com?

the company name (acme/123) doesn't matter - it's what the public see and think that counts.

if you're trading as bluewidgets.com and someone sets up a similar site with similar design / colours / name etc, shoppers could be mistaken into thinking the other site is yours. the other company is passing off as your company. they are hoping that people buy from them thinking they are buying from you. they are cashing in on your hard work, your good reputation etc etc etc. go see a lawyer and sue them.

[RailMan]

>>In this scenario, with no patents or
>>trademarks, how can the case actually be won?

you don't *need* to register trademarks or patents or copyright etc etc etc.

i'll try to explain using logos as an example - and this is only a basic explanation - there will be a lot of caveats etc ......

if you have designed a logo for your company, that logo is your trademark - registered or not, it's still your trademark. if someone copies that logo, they are infringing on your trademark / rights in that design etc.

registering the logo as a trademark serves two purposes:
1 - it shows the entire world that this design has already been used by you - nobody else should now use that logo (for similar goods / services etc)
2 - registration is dated so you can prove *without question* in court that you were using that logo / design from a certain date

if you have not registered the logo as a trademark, you ideally need some other form of proof, ie www.archive.org or printed stationery (invoices etc are good as they are dated). these will be questioned in court - the registered trademark does not need to be questioned.

similar applies to text / images / domain names etc etc etc etc etc

if you registered your domain name before your competitor then the whois shows you were first to choose that name. if you also have invoices / sales receipts / other trading information dated before your competitor registered their domain name, then this is all "proof" that you were first.

if someone has copied your website etc, you may have a case against them. go see a lawyer. don't worry that you haven't registered any patents / trademarks / copyright etc - go see a lawyer and let the lawyer tell you if you have a case or not.

if your lawyer believes you have a case, they can (in the first instance) send a threatening letter demanding your competitor "cease and desist" from passing off and demanding damages for passing off. if your competitor does nothing, you could take an injunction against them. and you can still seek damages whether or not your competitor makes changes to their site etc.

lawyers cost money - but so does lost business. in the long run, it's often cheaper to use a lawyer than to lose half your business to a competitor who is passing off as your company.

in the UK, small businesses can get a free half hour interview with a lawyer - see the law society website at [lawsociety.org.uk...]
(i hope it's ok to post this link - if it gets deleted, please PM me for the link)

disclaimer - i am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice, go see a lawyer etc etc etc