.tv Trademark Help!

[del.icio.us]

Hi folks,
I found two great names today.

Case:1
A television channel is operating under this name. So I searched for the TM information at USPTO, and found no TMs. The .com name is not owned by the broadcasting company. Can I register this name under .TV? Please advice.

Case:2
Several television channels from different countries are operating under this name. So I searched for the TM information at USPTO, and found more than 2 live TMs. All broadcasting channels have their own Name.CCTLD websites. Can I register this name? Please advice.

 

[TheBulldog]

Are you talking like ChannelBOB.tv, or BobsBigPenisChannel.tv

Unfortunately, without the names it is hard to say.

 

[gr8trfoo]

names dont have to be reg tm to be taken away at a udrp or even challanged under acpa.

 

[Rogor]

names dont have to be reg tm to be taken away at a udrp or even challanged under acpa.

hey del. finster's right. They establish TM rights to the name by having used it for business. Strange but true- It doesn't matter that much if its registered at USPTO, they could easily have rights to a name that was never registered.
Mind you I'm not a lawyer, worse yet , I'm a musician. I hung around the Legal Issues forum when I first joined NP. I see you've already posted there. Thats the thing to do. Good info there from Jberryhill, labbroca and DNquest just to name a few.
PS you might want to be a bit conservative with what you post. It can come back to bite you. . R

 

[StoneRoses]

Are you talking like ChannelBOB.tv, or BobsBigPenisChannel.tv

Unfortunately, without the names it is hard to say.

I have both of those tm'ed

 

[hullswingerscom]

well i have vista.tv it can stand for view there is a place in usa ...i think it goes well with the dot.tv extension,but maybe that has a trade mark......what u think ?
del.ico...its a mind field.

 

[Moses]

What if you register a TM also. cant the TM be registered in other classes than the current TM? and if the content is not related to current TM owner would that not make a difference?

 

[gr8trfoo]

i'm no berryhill but i can tell you that your best defense against trademark suits/ udrps etc is to USE the domain for some bona fide commercial enterprise. either form a corp with that exact name or develop a product/service that bears the name so that you can claim legitimate rights. that'll pretty much beat a udrp. lawsuits that claim infringment could be more tricky but if you own windows.tv and use it to sell "windows.tv brand laundry soap" then microsoft is going to have a helluva time claiming its an infringement of their computer operating system brand. not that they may not try.


of course using the name like this might make it harder to make $ via ppc...

 

[deb]

hey del. finster's right. They establish TM rights to the name by having used it for business. Strange but true- It doesn't matter that much if its registered at USPTO, they could easily have rights to a name that was never registered.
Mind you I'm not a lawyer, worse yet , I'm a musician. I hung around the Legal Issues forum when I first joined NP. I see you've already posted there. Thats the thing to do. Good info there from Jberryhill, labbroca and DNquest just to name a few.
PS you might want to be a bit conservative with what you post. It can come back to bite you. . R

rogor and finster are right. i am about to get spanked from icann fro a similar misconception. they have no trade mark! YES BUT how long have they been using their site in a bone fide way etc common law rules etc etc its been a $8000k lesson to be more thorough and smarter. i do believe i was in the right inc legitimate use rights but decision pending..............

my advice stay clear of trademarks. if you develop vista.tv they are more than likely to come after you. did you reg it before windows vista was publicly announced ANYHERE?

 

[hullswingerscom]

i reg it today ....visa means view so goes well with tv...i was going to make a move database site....

 

[Rogor]

i reg it today ....visa means view so goes well with tv...i was going to make a move database site....

hull, as I understand it, for the most part it comes down to usage. If you have a legit use that doesn't compete with Windoze or damage the rep of the name or generate biz for competition, you have a stronger case. That is assuming you are willing to part with a few x,xxx to defend it. Moses is on the right track-

What if you register a TM also. cant the TM be registered in other classes than the current TM? and if the content is not related to current TM owner would that not make a difference?

there are other legal tests too.

 

[del.icio.us]

I really appreciate all the feedbacks and suggestions.

I dropped the plan to reg those names.

I'll stay away from names which are vulnerable to potential TM issues.