Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I own a domain name that I plan to use as a company name. The problem is, it differs from a major news source by only one letter. (ex. [blank][blank]y. )

Yes it could cause an issue. I recall hearing about a case where Starbucks sued a small cafe "Sambucks" (the owner`s name was: Sam Buck) for copyright infringement. The owner justified that there were no Starbucks within 100 miles of where she was opening up her shop.

Granted her shop did, too serve coffee, but customers advocated that there was a clear difference between the two shops (Sambucks sold Beef Jerky, for example).

So while you might be a completely different kind of business, I`d still be careful.

This was a great article about the Starbucks vs. Sambucks case that might give you some better insight.



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Thanks for the help, Matt. I assume the safest bet would be to consult a professional...and I will.

Definately consult an attorney, but i don`t think you`ll have many problems in this one.