business-registration, copyright, trademark, domain-nameI want to start a company in the UK - for now lets say I want to call it ‘Super Sour Sweet Shop’ (Just an example) and want the url supersoursweetshop.com which is available.
My issue arises in that both supersoursweetshop.co.uk and supersoursweetshop.net are taken - both holding a logo saying ‘Super Sour Sweet Shop’ and a notice reading
‘Copyright all rights reserved 2013’
These sites have no other content other than a logo and copyright notice.
There is currently no business registered with this name at Companies House in the UK and also no relevant trade marks registered with the UK Intellectual Property Office.
If I was to start the business, is there any chance I could be infringing the copyright or a trade mark of the owner of the .co.uk and .net domains?
I’m not an attorney.
The Copyright notice is protecting the content of the site itself, but it does not establish “trademark” rights on any marks or media. In other words, don’t plagiarize or repurpose their content.
If you see something like “Super Sour Sweet Shop™” (with the little “TM” notice), now it is time to pay close attention. If you see that, then talk to a UK-based attorney for sure (not that you shouldn’t anyhow).
Also, do a double check on the USPTO.gov website to make sure no one in the US has established trademark protection for the same words or logos, just to be safe. Every now and again a major corporation (which may have hundreds of trademarks/slogans/logos) will have something out there. Even though the mark may only be registered in the US, they could still be a serious nuisance to a fragile startup.
Anyhow, if I were you and based in the US, I would begin using the word mark or logo with the “TM” always attached immediately in some business correspondences. Email a prospect with the word mark and “TM” in the email and establish a “first use in commerce” date of today. Then I’d register the mark, wait six months or so to see if any opposition comes up, get it Registered (R), and then be on my way.
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