Buitenlandse partij eist naamsverandering wegens te grote overeekomsten?

[quote=blackblossom schreef op donderdag 29 jul 2010, 21:27]ik ben net begonnen met mijn site en bedrijf happy herbi.
nu sprak op twitter vrolijk iemand aan met de naam happyherbivore.
ik vond het juist wel grappig dat we we vergelijkbare namen hebben, maar zij vond het niet zo grappig, want er word meteen gedreigd met een rechtszaak:

ze stuurde me de volgende mail:

hi daphne!

thanks for emailing me. i hate to be such a pain but my attorney is insisting that it be changed. my lawyer says that since "happyherbi" so similar to happy herbivore it would cause confusion, which makes it trademark infringement.

it doesn't matter that you're site or facebook page is less trafficked or less popular than mine -- its the fact that someone might confuse the two. happy herbivore has been my brand since 2006.

my fans also call themselves "happy herbis" and "happy herbies" -- so that too is an issue.

i'm sorry but we have to request that you change your name to something else and stop using happyherbi on twitter, facebook, etc.

my book, happy herbivore, is also going to be released in your country and i have fans from all over the world, including dutch fans; so it doesn't matter that you're promoting mostly in another language.

there is currently a legal battle going on between a danish publisher and a u.s. vegan chef for using similar names ("vegan with a vegeneance vs. "vegetarian with a vengeance") and i don't want to end up in that situation.

let me know if you need help coming up with a new name.... and thanks for being so understanding!
lindsay

toen ik vroeg wat er zou gebeuren als ik niks veranderde stuurde ze dit;

we'll have to commence legal action if you refuse to change it. i would prefer we not do that.

"happyherbi" would def. cause consumer confusion, which is the standard used for trademark infringement. you can learn more about trademarks here: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/basics/basic_facts_trademarks.jsp

i'm sorry, you seem really nice but i have to protect my brand, image and livelihood.

lindsay

ik vind het zelf onzin omdat ik in nederland woon, amper bezoekers heb en niet denk dat mensen het door de war gaan halen.

weten jullie of ze me hier echt voor kan aanklagen?

alternate: herbie happy or herbie superhappy?