@jeza the company is in the UK; in the UK you don't have to register a trademark as there is support for unregistered trademarks. The law is called "passing off" and looks to protect instances where a product or service could easily be confused with another : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passing_off
I previously had to take somebody to England's High Court for exactly this
I live in London. Will the company called Luna deliver to me from San Francisco? If not, how am I going to get the two confused, and how are they dealing in remotely the same market?
Interestingly, there are a number of EU trademarks which (i) contain the word Luna, and (ii) include reference to class 39 and 'Transport; packaging and storage of goods.'.
To be successful in a passing off action, you must prove that:
- the mark is yours
- you have built up a reputation in the mark
- you have been harmed in some way by the other person's use of the mark
It can be very difficult, and as a result, expensive to prove a passing off action.
IANAL but it would seem that a US-based company with (I'm assuming) no customers or operations in the UK would have a hard time showing that the use of a mark by a company which operates within a very small area of London has caused it harm. Also tough to show 'you have built up a reputation in the mark' given that Luna was only founded a few months ago (according to AngelList).
Your 'Sign up for early access' form won't accept a UK postcode. Nor will the form at the top of the page which says 'Sign up now and be the first to know when Luna is in your city.'
Comments
No. He's not. Our lawyers will be in contact
Lawyers, really?! This hostility is totally unnecessary!
Do you own a trademark in Europe? Your lawyers won't necessarily be much help if not.
@jeza the company is in the UK; in the UK you don't have to register a trademark as there is support for unregistered trademarks. The law is called "passing off" and looks to protect instances where a product or service could easily be confused with another : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passing_off
I previously had to take somebody to England's High Court for exactly this
I live in London. Will the company called Luna deliver to me from San Francisco? If not, how am I going to get the two confused, and how are they dealing in remotely the same market?
I previously had to take somebody to England's High Court for exactly this
I'm curious. Would you mind sharing some of the background, and the outcome?
Interestingly, there are a number of EU trademarks which (i) contain the word Luna, and (ii) include reference to class 39 and 'Transport; packaging and storage of goods.'.
For example: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/tmcase/Results/4/EU009432147
Also interesting is what the Intellectual Property Office has to say about passing off (http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/tm/t-about/t-protect/t-protect-u...):
To be successful in a passing off action, you must prove that:
- the mark is yours
- you have built up a reputation in the mark
- you have been harmed in some way by the other person's use of the mark
It can be very difficult, and as a result, expensive to prove a passing off action.
IANAL but it would seem that a US-based company with (I'm assuming) no customers or operations in the UK would have a hard time showing that the use of a mark by a company which operates within a very small area of London has caused it harm. Also tough to show 'you have built up a reputation in the mark' given that Luna was only founded a few months ago (according to AngelList).
Your 'Sign up for early access' form won't accept a UK postcode. Nor will the form at the top of the page which says 'Sign up now and be the first to know when Luna is in your city.'
:(
the American way!
No shit.