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can you get a trademark if someone else is already using your name the answer is maybe just maybe it depends upon a few things let's talk about them first if someone else is already using your name but they don't have a registered trademark then you just might be in luck so let's say that you've been operating I don't know Sam sandwich shop and is another Sam sandwich shop in some other part of the country or the world that's been using their name longer than you if they didn't file for trademark protection first you can still race them to the trademark office file your application and possibly get your trademark rights first so just because someone else is already using your name even if it's in connection with the same business as you you could still obtain trademark protection but what if someone has already filed for trademark protection for their name before you and has trademark rights can you still get trademark protection the answer is still maybe alright I'm chock full of good news today so two companies with the same name can both have trademark rights so long as they have different types of goods or services this might surprise people because you may think that once you have a trademark you get a monopoly or exclusive rights to use your name but that's not the case you only get exclusive rights within the same classes or categories or types of goods and services that you offer so think about Delta the airline and Delta the water faucet company both are called Delta both have trademarks and they're allowed to do so because consumers aren't really confused they don't think that the same company that flies planes also helps you get water from your sink so if you have a name that you want to get protected but you're worried because you see somebody else is out there online using it or you know that they have a registered trademark you're not dead in the water yet by contacting a trademark attorney they can run what's called a trademark clearance search and be able to determine one what is your likelihood of success of getting a trademark based upon what other trademarks have been filed before you or what roadblocks might exist for you obtaining trademark protection and by having that information you and your trademark attorney can come up with a plan of how to protect your business name or logo and get all those wonderful and exclusive rights that come with trademark protection but you might be thinking Ethan what are these wonderful benefits that come with getting a trademark I'd love to tell you about them but you've already been watching this video for like two and a half minutes so instead I invite you to visit trademark Tuesday's com where you can download our free guide called how to protect and grow your business or brand with trademarks and it's going to provide you with answers to all common questions about trademarks such as what is the trademark process what are the benefits or what will happen if someone else uses my name so visit trademark Tuesdays dot-com download your free guide and get all those juicy answers to those tough trademark questions that you've been thinking about there's actually coffee in this cup okay not much less but you were thinking I was faking it uh-huh it's coffee it's cold but there's coffee
Thanks for your comment Glen Tennessee, have a nice day.
- Julian Romain, Staff Member
all right Baron Branson asked me on Quora am I allowed to use a trademark word within my domain address such as Shopify I'm Andre mink of the father of trademark factory and here's my answer to Berens question I hate saying this but it really depends on a couple of things one it depends on what the word is how common it is outside of the brand that it's trademarked for like Apple right if you're selling apples nothing prevents you from using the word Apple in the domain name Apple and the other thing to look at is what your activity is are you trying to create the perception that you're somehow associated with licensed by or endorsed by that other brand and if you do such a thing but then the brand owner would probably have a pretty good case against you not being allowed to put their name and your domain name but if what you're doing has nothing to do with what they do then it should be okay right again two things how uncommon their word is and two are you trying to convince the world that you're somehow associated with them to the specific question of Shopify if Shopify is the word then it could be an issue because it's an invented word that they came up with a they trademarked and yeah so if they feel that whatever you're doing your domain name or your activity behind the domain name somehow threatens the integrity of their brand they'll probably go after you and they're probably gonna be able to win but the rule of thumb here is if you're not sure don't do that because it's a lot easier to build a brand from scratch that doesn't rely on you getting away with what might be perceived as an infringement versus you're just starting out with a name that's new that's unique that you can build some massive value on and claim it as your own this is what Shopify did they didn't call themselves my Amazon if I or you know Walmart fi or something else they came up with our own name and they made that into a name that everyone finds very valuable now Baron I hope this answers your question and if you absolutely hated this video but you watched it all the way up to here subscribe now because you post videos just like this every day so whatever held you watching this up to here there'll be a lot more to come so subscribe now get notified whenever the next one comes live until then I'll see you in the next video
Thanks bangglytsM your participation is very much appreciated
- Julian Romain
About the author
I've studied forensic pathology at Emory University in Atlanta and I am an expert in chinese folk religion. I usually feel exanimate. My previous job was communications professor I held this position for 15 years, I love talking about horseshoes and figure skating. Huge fan of Mark Richt I practice american football and collect handbags.
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