Another Company using same name and web address

[emorrow]

What is the name of your state? Texas

I currently run and own a computer consulting company (formed as a dba, but going to change to LLC) that was formed in 2001. I have registered the dba in Texas (Mycompany) and have the domain name of www.mycompany.com (registered 2001). I recently came across another company using the same business name (Mycompany) on their website with a web address of www.mycompany.biz. They offer the same type of services that I currently do as well. They registered www.mycompany.biz this year. As far as I know, they are not a registered business, yet are using my company name (on their site) and the www.mycompany.biz address. Is this legal for them to do? What type of recourse do I have to get them to stop, etc? Thanks in advance.

Erik

 

[olgethorpe]

Well, the bad news is that dba registrations (and for that matter, S Corps, C Corps, and LLCs) are only protected in the state in which they're registered. Trademarks and service marks are a national thing, but that doesn't help unless you get it registered before they do...

The good news is that 99% of the world never heard of the .BIZ stuff, so most people are going to be looking for www.mycompany.com which means you'll get a lot of their traffic.

 

[emorrow]

Thanks for the quick response.

I did forget to add that the other company is located here in Texas. They are located in Austin and I am located in Round Rock which are two different counties, but Round Rock is considered a suburb of Austin. Does that info help me in any way?

Thanks,

Erik

 

[davezan]

If you can prove you have a common law trademark and you can prove you
were in business first, you may have a chance of getting the domain from the
other party via the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy or the Anticybersquatting
Consumer Protection Act. But having a registered trademark is better.

Using the UDRP is more cost-efficient and expedient. If you need a specialized
attorney, PM or email me for referrals.