Can my wesbite be shut down for trademarket infringment?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Can my wesbite be shut down for trademarket infringment?

The domain name of my website has the words “Consumer Reports” in it. In total the website is “familyconsumerreports.com”. There is a very popular website called “consumerreports.org”. Can they take legal action against me for some type of trademark or copyright infringement, and does the fact that they are a nonprofit make a difference? Other than the name issue, my content is completely original. So I don’t know if this is a problem at all.

Asked on May 7, 2012 under Business Law, Georgia

Answers:

Kenneth Avila / Kenneth Avila, Patent Attorney

Answered 11 years ago | Contributor

The area of law raise here is Trademarks.  Many people think of logos that identify a company when considering trademarks.  However that is just one a small part of the laws regarding trademarks.  The Aspen outline on Intellectual Property describes trademarks as follows:  “Trademarks permit consumers to identify the source of goods or services. The purpose of trademark law is to ensure that consumers are able to rely on marks in exercising their purchasing preferences by prohibiting competitors from using marks in a way that confuses consumers about the source, sponsorship, or affiliation of goods or services.”.  Here you are presenting to the consumer a service called "familyconsumerreports.com". If consumers believe that your site is endorsed or managed by consumerreports.org then you would be infringing. You say that your content is original so I will assume that familyconsumerreports.com would have very different logos and that the website would differ by color and layout from consumerreports.org. The more different then the less likely a consumer would believe your website is somehow related to consumerreport.org. This is the general rule. However the rules are different for "famous marks". These marks receive additional protection in that their marks are protected from being "diluted" by other marks. As you can see your question requires a rather complex analysis.

Can your website be shut down for trademark infringment? The answer is "Yes" regardless if the trademark owner is a for profit or nonprofit business. I would recommend that you consult with an Intellectual Property attorney and get a proper analysis done. The money you will spend on the analysis will be well spent compared to the money you will be losing if you are found to be infringing on a trademark.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption