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Warning: I spent 3 weeks sorting out a trademark issue that should have taken 2 days
Back in March I filed for a business name for my dog grooming shop. I thought it was simple since I checked the state database. Then a letter showed up from a company in Texas saying my name was too close to theirs. I spent 3 weeks on the phone with lawyers and the trademark office before figuring out I needed a proper federal search first. Has anyone else gotten blindsided by a trademark conflict?
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tara79325d ago
Oh man, this hits close to home... I had almost the exact same mess with my business name a couple years back. I thought I was being so careful checking the state list, but then a cease and desist showed up from some company three states away. It took me a solid month of stress and lawyer calls to untangle it, and I still had to change my name in the end. The federal database search is no joke, I learned that the hard way too. Sounds like you got off easier than me at least, three weeks is rough but could have been way worse.
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the_grace25d ago
Dang @tara793, three states away? That's wild. I thought trademark stuff was mostly just local, but apparently not. What a nightmare.
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patricialee25d ago
Honestly, I gotta push back a little on calling it a "nightmare." You spent three weeks sorting it out and kept your name, right? That's actually pretty lucky. I've seen people lose everything they built because they didn't even bother checking the federal database. A friend of mine had to rebrand her whole bakery after two years because someone from across the country had the same name. Three weeks and a lawyer call sounds like a speedbump compared to that.
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