Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

In a recent case of California golf course resort Pebble Beach [pebblebeach.com] against a small bed and breakfast [pebblebeach-uk.com], the Court found the little guy avoided being hauled into court in California partly because his website was not “interactive.”  There was no ability to book a room or do commerce on the little guy’s website.  As a result, the little guy did not “purposely direct” his activities into California –and thus could not be sued for trademark infringement in California.  Lesson: the more places your website can be thought of as being “aimed at” the more places you might get hauled into Court.

 

My question to the floor:  Is having an interactive website worth the risk of having to travel [and hire local attorneys] to litigate?

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

Couldn`t you just avoid the whole issue by choosing a unique name?  Its kind of like saying you want a slow car because of the risk of getting a ticket right?  I`d be interested in the specifics of the case.  Either way thanks for bringing these topics up!

In theory, you can avoid having to travel for litigation by avoiding the litigation in the first place, yes.  The task is to do just that.  Take for example, the company that makes the "centra" mattress that is sued by the company that makes the "serta" mattress.  Centra thought they had a unique name. They got sued.  If they sold it at an interactive website, Serta gets to drag Centra across the country.  If Centra just sells the mattress in a small region and does not have an interactive website, they might still get sued but would not have to allow Serta to pick the forum.

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

Mr. Lindon,

Thanks for clearing that up.  I actually didn`t understand what you were saying in the original post until now.  I`m not familiar with the serta/centra case but clearly it sounds as though if your going to pick a similar name consult a patent lawyer first ;)

Yes, the issue is not so much similarity of names as it is jurisdiction and where the lawsuit can be brought.  It can be a big deal because people might be willing to fight harder if they can fight close to home and might be willing to settle a case and not fight if they have to keep getting on an airplane [and hire attorneys in another state] to fight.

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

What is Serta`s issue with Centra?

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It would be the kind of problem you might have with a bread maker calling themselves Livin` Bread instead of Living Bread.  The two designation are not identical, but may be confusingly similar.

 

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com