Question

[wbuckner]

I own breakn.co and want to create a video site using vine videos and whatnot users submit. Can a site like break.com cause me any legal issues? I attempted to see if they had any trademarks but couldnt find anything. Any help would be grateful!

Will

 

[wbuckner]

Noone have any clues on this? I understand seeking a attorney that specializes in this field but I don't have a huge budget for stuff like that. If someone could help or even point me in the right direction to find out would be great.

Thanks

 

[damic25]

It's possible, and possibly likely they may try to stop you. I didn't see a TM for Break.com on USPTO, but it's possible they have something for Break Media who owns them. Since they are a "video" related site, and it sounds like you want to do a video related site too... I would suggest using another domain personally.

 

[ryan_uk]

It doesn't matter if the TM is registered or not, but rather Break.com has been using Break as its brand (trademark) and for quite some time now. Breakn is too close (in name and purpose), so it could well be viewed as "bad faith". I am not a lawyer, though, but personally I would find another (unrelated) purpose for the domain or delete it.

 

[Chris Wright]

Ryan is right.
You only find registered TM in the database.
But, you don't have to register to enforce your TM.
Just put a TM symbol next to a valid & noninfringing usage, and viola: You have a common law TM.
OR if you or your product or co name is already well known, due to widespread public use, you don't even need a TM symbol.
People need to learn that a TM is valid even when it isn't registered.