Do I need to change my company name

[dan_tripp]

<p>I started my photography business a year ago as a non-for-profit company. I raise money for my mission trips, so I created Mission Photography and my website is MissionPhoto.org I used the .ORG because I was a non-for-profit organization. Recently I have decided to turn my photography business into a legal income-based business and have hired an accountant and need to register my business for tax purposes, etc.<br>

Anyway, I received an email from another photographer who has trademarked Mission Photography, and he asked me to change my name. I have hundreds of dollars in advertisement, business cards, and my company has really taken off and my name is know around the community. The other Mission Photography is in Maryland, and I am in Missouri.<br>

What are your thoughts? Do I legally need to change my name?</p>

<p>Thanks for your suggestions.</p>

[mark_t5]

<p>Ask a lawyer :)<br /> but i would think it is hard to trademark something that is made up from 2 common words? and I would doubt that the other company is so famous that anyone would link those 2 words together with his business that he can sue you for infringing his trademark by having the same 2 words.( did you even ask him to see if indeed he owns the trademark? )<br>

I did a quick search on mission photography and i found 1 in st louis, 1 in orange county, 1 in SF. is he going to ask all of em to take em down? i think he's the one with the uphill battle.</p>

[chris_whitcomb1]

<p>Talk to a lawyer! But my best guess is he has taken the steps to trademark his name as his brand. Try naming yourself Coca Cola Photography, Apple Studios, or Best Buy Weddings, etc., get my point. We've talked about getting our name protected nationwide but haven't....talked to a lawyer yet. Being famous really doesn't have much to do with it, if he's paid THE MAN, then he owns it.</p>

[vincent_peri]

<p>I don't know how much help this is, but I found this:<br>

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080124174037AAGT8tf<br>

Since the two (or more) businesses are in different states, I think you don't have much to worry about (unless he trademarked his business name).</p>

[mcmanamey]

<p>Ok, lawyer, duh.<br>

A lot of YOUR need to change your name depends on how far the other guy has trademarked his name. It is possible to register a name in one state, but not another. It is possible to register the name nation-wide, and lock everybody else out.</p>

<p>Matt used to work for the computer store Mac Source in Oklahoma City. Eventually, they started online/ebay sales. Pretty quickly, they were contacted by a CALIFORNIA company who's name was NOT "mac source", but they had trademarked or copyrighted something including "mac source", like "your online mac source". They threatened huge lawsuit, Mac Source got to change their name. And they would have lost the fight, because the other company had filed nationally first.</p>

<p>My personal opinion is, find out if he registered nationally or in his state only. IF it's his state only, get yourself filed & trademarked as tight as you can in YOUR state ASAP, and tell him to take a flying leap. If it's national to him already, sorry.... you'll have to change. And I like your name, btw. Good luck w/ actual income!!!</p>

[aimee_pieters]

<p>Dan,<br>

What kind of answer did you actually expect to get here? If the others tell you that it's OK because he's in another state, are you just going to ignore him?<br>

We're not lawyers, we can't represent you, nor can we be responsible for what we tell you. Call an attorney. If you have as much invested as you say, isn't it worth an appointment....-Aimee</p>

[bob_sunley]

<p>Go here and search</p>

<p>http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=searchss&state=4009:2fmlpf.1.1</p>

<p> </p>

[gregory_c]

<p>Try this,,,,"Mission Photo" or "Mission Photography <em>by Dan"</em> hey, business cards are cheap, reputation & portfolio are not</p>

[mac_mcanirlin]

<p> if you do not want to fight it, consider a slight name change, but of course doing similar searches as suggested.<br>

Inner Misson Photography<br>

Missionary Photography<br>

Missionary Position Photography</p>

[requiem]

<p>My two cents:</p>

<p>The guy registered his mark back in 2003/4. Since it looks like you started using it within the past year, that's a problem. I started typing this post with the intention of explaining how since you appear to operate in different geographical regions you shouldn't have a problem, but his registration changes that.</p>

<p>My guess is that if both of your businesses are limited primarily to your respective communities, there is room for an agreement to be reached. You should have a chat with an attorney about this issue, and ideally post back with the results (but perhaps in the business forum).</p>

<p>Further reading:<br>

http://www.uspto.gov/go/tac/doc/basic/<br>

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tm.htm<br>

http://www.abanet.org/buslaw/blt/2006-05-06/wilcox.shtml</p>

[swenson]

<p>It doesn't matter when it was registered and when he started using it. Even if you had been using it before he registered it would not matter. The one that registered it first gets it, end of story. Pick a new name register it and get on with your life. Differnet states means squat. The trade/service mark is nation wide. Do you think that you could open a Ford factory in a idfferent state? This is a battle you can not win. Simmular name will not fly either. If they are close enough to cause confusion your going to be in the same situation.</p>

<p>Seriously, why haven't you spent a few hundered dollars and talked to a trade/service mark attorney?</p>

[davebell]

<p><em>Missionary Position Photography</em></p>

<p>I like it! Nice one Mac</p>

[requiem]

<p>Jim,</p>

<p>The Lanham Act established prior use of a mark as a defense against infringement, but limited to the area where that prior use happened. (In the past, some courts have considered this a complete defense, but there may be a trend to consider it as merely reducing the weight of the registration so as to allow the issue to be decided based on the accused's common law rights to the mark.)</p>

<p>Part of the fun of trademark law is its common law basis; registration of a mark doesn't grant the right to use it so much as it creates a presumption of ownership. In any case, Dan doesn't have prior use on his side, so it's a moot point.</p>

<p>Note: IANAL, which is why a real one might look at my preceding post, or this, and sighing, shake their head.</p>

[darrengold]

<p>If you do have to change your name, with a surname like Tripp, shouldn't you call yourself "The Light Fantastic"<br>

Geddit?</p>

[steve_carless]

<p>For your website, since he doesn't have missionphoto registered you should be able to use it. He may complain, but probably has no grounds to sue you. As for the bus name, it is trademarked so you will need to change it.</p>

[sherijohnson]

<p>He should have had his attorney contact you, not email you himself, just an observation.</p>

[swenson]

<p>If he uses registered service/trade mark for registering a domain name the person that has it can force him to take down the site, or at least change the name. I've seen it happen. That is the purpose of the trade mark, to keep other people from using it. He can't start a maginze called Mission Photography just becuase the person that has it registered does not publish one by that name.</p>