a question

IP (Intellectual Property) Law

Tommy,
I am no lawyer or expert on this but I have had some experience in these types of situations. First question: Have you registered your trademark "The Lighting Geek" with the Feds.? If so, you can file a complaint and get a cease and desist order filed against the other party. The URL "TheLightingGeek.net" is a different matter...there is very little to nothing you can do about this...URLs can be bought and sold without any relationship to a business...there are people out there whose sole business is buying URLs and reselling them at a profit to the company they relate to...

Company names, logos, and other "business" identities are subject to review by the US Trademark and Patent Office. If you have a registered trademark, even if it is pending, you may have grounds to seek a cease and desist...if you have not registered the name it becomes more problematic...you must document a "first use" and iniitate registration procedures in order to establish the name as "yours". Given that this other "company" is in the same industry it would appear that you have a legitimate cause for complaint.

As with any IP (intellectual property) case...you must be willing to defend your property (e.g. trademark, logo etc.)...this usually means that you will incure legal expenses. Patents and trademarks are only worth something if you are willing to defend them. Given your investment in your name this is something you should consider seriously, as it is "your company" identity and reputation that is at stake.

If the other company begins trademark registration actions he may put you in a vunerable position..if you have not registered the name I would recommend that you do so...It does not cost very much to register the name, logo etc., but it could be very expensive if you don't and have to react to a cease and desist initiated by the other party defending thier IP.

I hope that this helps...let me know if I can be of further assistance to you.

Best wishes,
Gerry.

The best advice I can give was the same advice given to me by those in this thread. Trademark your name and slogans. You will invest around 800.00 for both if you do it yourself, but trust me, it is money well spent.

I filed a complaint with Twitter and Facebook for Trademark infringement and immediately Facebook shut it down. I am sure Twitter will do the same. Regardless of what David says, in this case, it causes confusion to consumer with regards to the name The Lighting Geek. He would have benefited from my name, my work on TV, and anything that comes in the future. My plans are not limited to landscape lighting, although it is where my heart is. I will be sending a cease and desist order and if that doesn't get his attention, I have the right to shut down his website and require him to release the domains. There is usually a settlement involved to cover the domain. I will go after the hosting company as well. I also now own geeklighing, thegeeklighting, geeklights, among others to slow down anyone else considering this same action. You should do the same if you have a unique or catchy name/domain. I am not going away, and I prepared to do whatever is necessary to protect myself and my company. I sure you all would do the same. Unfornuately David made a fatal error, and mistook compassion for weakness.

If I can help anyone here in anyway, my phone number is (916) 223-6712, that is just a part of who I am.