trademark, brand, social-networking, user-acquisitionWhat’s the proper way to claim my startup BrandName/Username on social media websites if it’s already taken?
Should I register the business first? Or will just registering the trademark fix that or is there more to do?
current stage
I was searching online but didn’t find a satisfying answer!
“i contacted the current owners of the username with no luck” can mean multiple things
because they didn’t reply back
Try again.
because they’re not interested in giving it away
Try harder. See if some money will help. If it still doesn’t work, see below.
because they’re asking for extortionate sums
Two scenarios:
They’re already using it for something else. In that case tough luck; find an alternative id for that social network. Note that they can also put forward that they’re using it for whatever else they’re doing and get in the way of you registering the trademark. (Trademarks can be registered multiple times provided there’s no confusion; see for instance Apple vs Apple.)
They’re not using it. In this case, register the trademark and have a lawyer send them a strongly worded letter.
Related:
https://startups.stackexchange.com/questions/11177/can-i-use-my-competitor-trademark-in-my-product-description
https://startups.stackexchange.com/questions/11160/can-i-use-other-company-name-in-my-advertisement
IANAL
The best way to get the Brand Name/Social Media you want is to get your Series A and spend money on it. Any other way will just end up costing you either more money or really bad PR as your company is trying to launch. Either way can cripple your young company.
If you’ve stated you tried to reach the owners, but a simple e-mail won’t do it. I’m sure you get as much spam as everyone else does so your e-mail either wasn’t seen or, as other pointed out, the owner wasn’t interested.
I had someone contact me about purchasing one of my domain names. Actually the first one I ever registered. I’d sell it, but for the right price, and that price is probably too high for a solo-preneur or small business person.
Domain squatting is a real issue that Domain Registrars do take seriously and will assist in trademark owners if necessary. However, you are not an established brand with value behind your brand name, thus you can’t demonstrate that the current owners are trading in on your company’s good will for their own benefit. And a simple comparison between when the owners of the brand/social names first registered compared to when your company was founded would find you on the wrong side of the argument.
So, if you’re interested in spending some cash to obtain them, find a lawyer worth their salt to track down the owners to make an offer and open up negotiations. Even Facebook had to pay out $200k to get the domain facebook.com (they used to be thefacebook.com).
Better yet, focus on your company and find a cool new name that nobody would be using yet.
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