QUESTION

Two companies with the same name?

Asked on May 06th, 2014 on Business Law - California
More details to this question:
Hello, in this scenario there are two companies. Company A and Company B. Company B purchases a website domain under the name "Company A" and starts advertising themselves as "Company A" However, Company B had no idea Company A already existed. Company A has the domain "The Company A" and has Copyright © 2010-2011. Company A has nothing to do with Company B and Company B has nothing to do with Company A. Company A has been silent/inactive since 2012. Is Company B at risk for legal implications from Company A because they are pretty much using the same name? Thank you for any help you can provide.
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1 ANSWER

Probate Litigation Attorney serving Anaheim, CA
2 Awards
Possibly. It depends on whether or not they are in the same industry (would they have been competitors) and what the names of the businesses are. Certain names don't get as much protection because they are not unique (think geographical names like West Coast). The key test is whether consumer confusion has or is likely to result from the similar names.
Answered on May 06th, 2014 at 6:00 PM

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