| Originally posted by : Arjun |
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Hello sir/mam, I am going to start a new company.. I have decided a name and logo. Now I checked trademark but since it was a generic name There are some chances that It wont be granted as already one application was refused which was filed by another person. What to do now?
1. If I start without trademarking and tomorrow if someone trademark that name, will it be problem for me?
2. If company name cannot be trademarked because of generic name what about logo? can i copyright it?
Kindly tel me please |
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Hello,
Your situation cannot be compared with the other applicant's situation. Please do not make assumptions on what you see. You need to choose the perfect nature of business and do a little research of the companies with the similar name. Also, you can choose to twist your business' name a little. Probably you can alter the spelling. There might be an issue in the future with regards to your business if you just set it up without taking proper steps. A registered trademark gives you the exclusive right to use your business name nationwide in connection with the goods and services you've identified in your registration, and allows you to enforce your trademark by filing a lawsuit in federal court.
Copyright secures Creative or intellectual creations. You have not created that name. There is no question for you to put it as a copyright. As you mentioned, there are many businesses with the same name. SO, somebody must have taken the copyright already.
If your nature of the business is different from the trade marked business, nobody can sue you. This has been reiterated in the Nandini Deluxe case. However, it is suggested that you do not choose a generic name, and specify your nature of business.
Hope this has helped you.
Regards,
Ish*ta Desai
Law Student.
