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My LLC hit $50k in sales and now a guy in Dallas says I owe him for using my own business name
Filed my LLC papers in March and hit $50k in sales by August, then got a letter from a guy in Dallas saying he trademarked a similar name back in 2021. My name is just my last name plus 'Fitness' and his is spelled different, so do I actually need a lawyer or can I just reply myself? Has anyone fought one of these letters without paying $3k up front?
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the_emma16d ago
The spelling thing matters way more than people realize, so don't just assume you're fine because his name looks different. Trademark law looks at whether the names sound alike or could confuse customers, not just how they're spelled, so "Brown Fitness" vs "Browne Fitness" could still be a problem depending on what he actually sells. What I'd dig into first is whether his trademark is even for the same type of goods or services, because a trademark only covers the category he registered it under. If he trademarked something for, say, clothing and you're running a gym or personal training, that's a much weaker claim on his end. Also check if he's actually using it in commerce or just sitting on the registration, since you can't keep a mark alive if you're not using it.
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