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Scuba Forum / General / February 2006Threats to Dive Operation
This is about a Multi National Dive Operator trying to stop a small independant dive instructor from carrying out his normal business. And i think it stinks........ The small time instructor trades and resides here in the UK, he has been carrying out his trade for years using the same name now as he has done for those years........... A rather large Multi National company that is big lets say in the southern hemisphere wants to move into the uk, they also use the same name (in the southern hemisphere) as Little Joe......so......they register their company in the uk, not in the name they use else where but in the exact same way that Little Joe trades. Little Joe has now received solicitors (thats lawyer in American) papers telling him to stop trading using THEIR name.......... I think it suck's.......what do you think. www.seatreker.com Dave Morgan @ Work in the UK > Little Joe has now received solicitors (thats lawyer in American) papers > telling him to stop trading using THEIR name.......... > > I think it suck's.......what do you think. 1. I think he should have registered his name when he could do so unopposed. 2. I think he should talk with a solicitor of his own. >> Little Joe has now received solicitors (thats lawyer in American) papers >> telling him to stop trading using THEIR name.......... [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > unopposed. > 2. I think he should talk with a solicitor of his own. It would probably be cheaper for Little Joe to tweak his shop's name slightly and then register it - avoid the lawyers. For example, Little Joe could drop the "Little" or add "Big", or "Limey", or if its "Joe's Dive Shop" he could change it to "Joe's Scuba Shop" - his regular customers won't care. Tell us the current name, and I'm sure we could come up with some alternatives. >>>Little Joe has now received solicitors (thats lawyer in American) papers >>>telling him to stop trading using THEIR name.......... [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Tell us the current name, and I'm sure we could come up with some > alternatives. Where is "our" legal giant Greg when you need him. > Where is "our" legal giant Greg when you need him. Working. But I'm no help in a British situation. God only knows what sort of funny laws they have over there. They can't even drive on the right side of the street. In the U.S., the basic rule for federal trademarks is the first to register wins. That said, one can oppose registration if he can claim prior use of the mark. If this were a U.S. case, I might advise the dive shop to oppose U.S. registration. If the mark is published for opposition and no opposition is filed within the statutory deadline, it then becomes more difficult to prevail. Free legal advice for trademark owners: check (or have your attorney check) published pending trademarks periodically so you can nip this sort of problem in the bud, and look into federally registering your mark for additional protection. http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=tess&state=dqbjfn.1.1 >>Where is "our" legal giant Greg when you need him. > Working. But I'm no help in a British situation. God only knows what sort > of funny laws they have over there. They can't even drive on the right side [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > can nip this sort of problem in the bud, and look into federally registering > your mark for additional protection. So, what you are saying is that if you can prove that you have used a "name" before some else registers it, you could win a case? > So, what you are saying is that if you can prove that you have used a > "name" before some else registers it, you could win a case? In the US, yes, but "could" is the operative word. Lee >> So, what you are saying is that if you can prove that you have used a >> "name" before some else registers it, you could win a case? > >In the US, yes, but "could" is the operative word. Can you afford to win. Big corporation, big bucks, big lawyers. >Lee >  Signaturedillon Could have been is in the past Could be is in the future There is only the now > So, what you are saying is that if you can prove that you have used a > "name" before some else registers it, you could win a case? Depending on how widespread your use of the mark. For a local diveshop, it might be able to "win" concurrent registration, i.e. the ability to continue to use the mark within its local geographical area. > Depending on how widespread your use of the mark. For a local > diveshop, it might be able to "win" concurrent registration, i.e. the > ability to continue to use the mark within its local geographical area. I also have a work coleague/business associatte that runs a company that is a Limited Company and have been limited since God was in short trousers. They happen to have the same name as a GLOBAL company, a true giant in their (and our field) of trade, they also have tried to force my business assoviatte to stop using the name, thay have failed. I have deleted comments i just made because they highlighted the weakness in his case.......dont want to furnish the opposition with fuel. www.seatreker.com Dave Morgan @ Work in the UK > Where is "our" legal giant Greg when you need him. I don't think Greg is an expert on UK name registration laws. Lee > Tell us the current name, and I'm sure we could come up with some > alternatives. I dont have a problem with naming them but i dont want to face any litigation or prodjudice the case myself, But, my friend actually taught me and my wife to dive, and he was trading with that same name back then, he can prove it too, he has the bank account name, statements to prove it. In the UK you only register a Limited Company, and you only have to do that if the company £££££ turnover exceeds a certain amount, i never registered my company untill i had been trading for 9 years, untill you do register your legal title is "Dave Morgan" trading as..(example) Acme Diving.........and that is how my friend has been trading, it does nothing to diminish the fact that he has been trading with that name here in the uk since 1996, why should some big company come over here.....for christ sake they dont even trade here, and stop a man from earning his trade. www.seatreker.com Dave Morgan @ Work in the UK > I dont have a problem with naming them but i dont want to face any > litigation or prodjudice the case myself, But, my friend actually taught [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > uk since 1996, why should some big company come over here.....for christ > sake they dont even trade here, and stop a man from earning his trade. Some people can't even use their own names. Try having the last name McDonald and name a burger joint after yourself and see how long you can stay in business. Maybe I can sue that guy who has the mossmanscuba.com website. Anyone know a good Canadian trademark lawyer? >> I dont have a problem with naming them but i dont want to face any >> litigation or prodjudice the case myself, But, my friend actually taught [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >McDonald and name a burger joint after yourself and see how long you can >stay in business. I can't use Pyron Technology. Then there's the famous case of Ewing Oil. >Maybe I can sue that guy who has the mossmanscuba.com website. Anyone know >a good Canadian trademark lawyer? > Signaturedillon Could have been is in the past Could be is in the future There is only the now Yes, it is a pain in the neck for him to be bothered with a name change. I personally feel, the other group should not be allowed to use their name as he has been using for a long time but in the World over, registration of names has legal priority. Tweeking would be the fast route to go and I would add that he should notify every customer he ever had of the reason for the change and announce in the newspaper! Bullies are not really admired by customers of good people. > This is about a Multi National Dive Operator trying to stop a small > independant dive instructor from carrying out his normal business. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > www.seatreker.com > Dave Morgan @ Work in the UK > Yes, it is a pain in the neck for him to be bothered with a name > change. I personally feel, the other group should not be allowed to > use their name as he has been using for a long time but in the World > over, registration of names has legal priority. Usually, but not necessarily. > Tweeking would be the fast route to go and I would add that he should > notify every customer > he ever had of the reason for the change and announce in the newspaper! > Bullies are not really admired by customers of good people. It may require more than a tweek, but changing his shop's name is probably the easiest route, particularly if he originally picked a name similar to an internationally well known one. He who benefits from the name of another, doesn't have a lot of room for complaint if called on to quit doing so. I still want to know the shop's name and the international organization that's trying to get him to change it. Lee
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