I have come up with a name for my product. I discovered that the same name is being used by someone else..?

Question

I came up with a name for a product I am making and I thought it was original until I saw, on the internet, that someone else is using the same name for their similar product. Can I still use that name? Does it need to be copywrighted or how do I find out if it is already copywrighted. Can I use the name w/o copywrighting it? Need all the details.....please

I am confused.....

Answer 1

Change it in some way and you should be fine

Answer 2

get a tissue and stop crying

Answer 3

You are going to be better off coming up with a new name.  Names need to be copywritten and products pattented.  I would be surprised if this other company has not done this already.

Answer 4

Product names are not copyrighted. They are trademarked. That is, it is the mark of their trade. Trademark is a practice used primarily to prevent customers from being confused as to who is the true vendor of a product. For instance if you have the company Apple selling Macintosh computers, and another company IBM selling Macintosh computers, it is a breach of trademark. As are similar sounding or spelt product names, eg if IBM called it a Makintosh computer it would still most likely be deemed a breach of trademark.

However, if the companies are selling vastly different products, no confusion can occur and both products can legally coexist. For example if you have Apple selling Macintosh computers, and IBM selling a Macintosh line of clothing, a consumer cannot possibly be confused over that.

But you say not only is the product name the same, but that it's a similar product. Well, obviously it would be up to an official legal entity to determine if the product types are similar enough that the same name would confuse consumers. In which case you will need to get yourself a lawyer to analyse your case. That is, if you really want to use that product name.

Answer 5

If the other person's product name is already on the Internet, then they can prove that they had the name first.

So you must choose a different name.

Answer 6

This is a trademark issue rather than copyright. You'll definitely be infringing on their trademark, which is usually protected by use alone (that is, they didn't need to have registered it to prevent anyone else from using it).

If the products were completely, utterly different-- a calculator versus a hot-air balloon, say-- then the products are in different general classes and similar or same product names can usually co-exist because nobody is going to accidentally buy one when they meant to buy the other. (Called 'confustion') This isn't your situation, though, so you'll have to come up with another name or two.

Good luck!

Answer 7

Check out USPTO.org for status of the trademark of your product(s).

Good luck!