Someone is using my Store/Club Name ;(

Trademarks aren't my area of speciality, but I think it has more to do with just having a name. Trademark protection in a name, I think, will only protect it from other competing businesses, which is defined by product type and possibly geography. So it may matter whether it's completely a virtual business (which sells data, rally) or a physical business (selling cloth).

Maybe you are right. I did had a call back, but their answer wasn't really convincing. They will "investigate the matter, so they can give me their best service".... That sounded so impressive, but then again... I heard it before .

Morwen.

You can.

Think of it like a web design business. Some web designers never talk to their clients, they do it all on email. their work is not tangible. they use the internet as a platform.

Its the same in SL. atleast as far as content creators are concerned. They spend hours making things in photoshop and simply use SL as their platform. Same thing with ppl who use like turbosquid, their products are not physically tangible but theyre making money off of it. and itd be completely wise to TM the name theyre operating under.

Esp if the shop in question has a website for themselves, not a blog, but a website. That would help too when it asks for the specimen to be provided.

This is exactly what I was thinking. Have a website devoted to your business pointing to SL. I just think this is new territory. A business is a business and in SL it can involve real money.

I wouldn`t be surprised if sometime in the future business owners in SL are required to file for a business in RL and pay taxes on their profits. People are getting confused by the fact its a virtual world. The internet is pretty virtual and people operate businesses solely online all of the time; this is along the exact same lines..if not the same thing.

I remember reading a post from a guy outside of the US saying that he makes so much in SL his country requires him to pay taxes on it.


I do pay taxes on what I make myself.


Regardless of this being a virtual world, real money and time are being put into it. People are making 200-800 a day +. In my opinion its not a game unless thats all your here for. Those of us here for business, its a platform to operate in. And theres no reason a TM would not hold up.

When you go to file for it, pick the class type closest to what you do, and if youre a content creator make sure you choose graphic and 3d art design. The only 'problem' is, it seems TM and business license go hand in hand. So it may even be a good idea to file for a business in your state. theres a question that asks "do you have a physical presence or an online presence"- you need to select an online presence, and pay taxes on what you make. ESPECIALLY if youre one of those who has quit your job in RL because you make so much in SL. its dumb not to, especially if SL shuts down and you need to go find a job, you can say "i was a business owner" and have your proof and "SL" never has to come up. Even when you file, you do not mention SL, they do not get specific about WHERE you do your work, they just want to know -what- you do (and like i said, pick 3d art/graphic design). thats better then showing up for a RL job with nothing other than "uhh i stayed up and made stuff online" i dont think that will get you hired.

Some may definitely disagree with me, but from my filings of business names and TMs in RL, this is how i see it.

if you are making good money in SL, there is no reason you should not be paying taxes on it, and there is no reason why you should not be able to file a TM for your name. You are operating online, whether its in SL or not, you are operating..and you have the right to file under a class that best suits you the same way any other e-business does.

It's all about the TOS, nothing more.

If you read the TOS you will see that you really own nothing in SL. Not your Lindens, prims, inventory, your name, even a registered trademark for the name you put on a sign or advertise with in the search. You surrender all rights for all your in game assets.

Unless you happen to be someone LL wants to get along like a celebrity or a corporate customer.

No offense to you but more than likely your problem in the hands of LL staff is something they do not want to deal with because your contribution to their profits is so small.

If I have business in Rl and my name is TMd, and someone opened a business in SL selling the same things i sell in RL. by law, LL would have to have them take it down.

They can not hide behind a virtual wall.

On the *other hand* of this three handed mutant, Google got put in their place by some existing UK based firm. So their "GMail" is "Googlemail" in the UK, and that's what address you get if you're UK based.

You have good advice. Based on some of the things I've heard here, I'm begining to think it's gonna be wise to rename and TM the new more ORIGINAL name. I really don't want to rename since I have built a decent sized store behind it (the club I could careless about renaming), but I also don't want to deal with this again in the future.

I originally thought about using my first RL name in my SL store name (Adria) because it's fairly unique, but there are residents walking around with that last name! That was odd, I've never met anyone with my name in RL, and suddenly there are tons of residents with it as a last name lol.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for your advice, especially Jesseauitui (lots of good advice). If anyone knows anything more, feel free to say it because I'm keeping my eye on this thread.

-Sae

nods agrees.

when my partner and i opened our store we made sure(along with our landowner) that the name of our shop was not being used. it sounds like this person knew full well that they would be taking, or attempting to take, your buisness away. the good thing about this? those who know the difference won't be taken in, and it will only attract campers.

actually the solution tends to be a bit easier then you would think. If in theory you had a trademark on a name, which in turn would be the name of your company. all you have to do is contact the person that is using you "name" say listen i own the trademark rights to that name, which means your not permitted to use it as I (being you) did not give you permission to use it. then all you have to do is show them a copy of the trademark and then 9 times out of 10 they will change it. (more then likely to a name thats close but not exactly the same) if they blow you off send it a few more times and if they still fail to change it, then you have a terms for a lawsuit. as they have failed to comply with you and your trademark rights. and i'm sure a bunch of you will go but its a virtual world can't sue someone for it. but in turn you can. virtual or not. its not different then them starting up a website.

guess i should have said what you could do if you don't have a trademark huh? lol

you could contact them and ask them to change the name as you are the original. but in the same sense. really won't do you any good cause they would prolly respond with a rude remark or not at all. so pretty much leaves you stuck. its annoying that ppl try to leach of names of bigger companies or w/e. but its just as real in SL as it is in RL. my RL father owned a company. and when he first started out he didn't have the cash to get a trademark for his company name. eventually he did, but to his knowledge found 3 other companies using his name. 2 of which were ppl that he had worked with in the past. he got lucky in turn that he got the trademark first. over the years i would say about 5 times he had to have his lawyer contact companies that where trying to leech off of "his" name. personally i think its a good investment. and if you doubt that i'll tell you why i think that. eventually my dad decided that his rl business just too much away from his friends and family, turned out another company wanted to buy the name from him. so he sold the business and all its assets (building equiptment, etc) and then pretty much lived off the interest. so really ya never know.

Bingo.

How does SL differ from a web store that uses "points" which you can earn or buy with real currency? Not enough to matter.

Anyone using McDonald's or Burger King in SL (for SL "food" or related merchandise) has faces possible lawsuits from the aforementioned companies, if they ever decide to go into it, despite the fact that there is no real food in SL.

If it's a nusury and they sell plants, they're safe.

In any case, the biggest issue is venue -- whether US laws apply, or some other country's. This is an issue with any web presence. However, when both parties are from the same country, it's pretty cut and dried.

Some here have implied that there is an implicit trademark, but I doubt this is true. Someone who actually has researched the subject and has a clue should post.

With copyrights, you have an implicit copyright whenever you fix a work of art in recorded media, such as recording a song or writing the sheet music for it. (If you just play it and never record or write it down, no luck). But I do not think this is true for trademarks.

Ergo, the OP has no legal leg to stand on, unfortunately.

Chiman, I doubt the OP registered a trademark, so they can't follow your advice. Furthermore, as pointed out above, the business differ and therefore trademark protection doesn't apply.

Sae, I suggest you consider keeping your name, but make sure that your search entries make it clear what your business is, and that your artwork underscores it. If I'm looking for your clothing, I won't TP off to a dance club of the same name. Sure many will.

You can try a new name, but beware the same thing can happen to you again. Of course, "Rave Nation" is going to get hit again even if the current interloper quits, so if you do pick a new name, don't pick one that's so popular.