Trademark Infringment

The below does not constitute legal advice, does not form an attorney-client relationship, and should not be relied upon to take or refrain from taking any action.

Three issues in play:

1. Trademark - Your trademark (and trade name) is similar but, in my opinion, does not infringe the trademark used by the other company.

2. Patent - I very seriously doubt the other company has any patent protection for its speakers -- or that patent protection is even available for its speakers.

3. Website -- does your website infringe whatever trade dress rights (i.e., the look and feel) of the other company's website? Not likely.

Yes, you can buy a fog light and modify it into a speaker so long as you remove all trademarks and other identifying features affixed by the fog light manufacturer.

I understand that you don't have the money to fight an extended battle with the other company. Consider a few hours of time with an intellectual property attorney, however, an investment in your company. If your attorney believes (as I do) that the other company has no legitimate claims against you, a very pointed letter should end the matter.

Do not publish any further specific information about this dispute in any public forum, including Avvo. Good luck.

It's very possible that a trademark examiner would find that the two names are similar enough so that one infringes the other. Don'tt post the company's names or TMs on this public site.

From what you've stated, your use just started, so even if your sompetitor hasn't actually registered their mark, they've been using theirs longer than you've been using yours, so their rights are superior to yours, and the products appear to be very similar. However, both marks are descriptive of the product and not as "fanciful" and "arbiitrary" as strong marks are, so both are relatively weak, and that makes their claim against yours weak.

You're allowed to create a product out of other products, and you're allowed, even encouraged to compete with this other user, but the question is, from a trademark perspective in how you sell your products on your website, are their customers going to be confused and find your site in looking for theirs? If so, then maybe they can prove trademark infringement. If they found out about your site from a customer who relayed to them that they first went to your site and weren't sure who was who, they can use that kind of evidence to back up their claim.

As for ripping off the competitor's designs for the products, it's possible that he has a design patent, but that only covers the ornamental part of the product, not the functional part, and your question doesn't indicate that he's claiming that he's got one that you're infringing, so this is probably a bluff.

These questions might be academic if you can't afford a lawyer to defend you if he sues you or to assert your rights to prevent that.

In view of the fact that you have no sales yet and have presumably only invested a nominal amount in a domain name, you may be best off choosing a new TM and domain name that he can't claim infringes his (or another else's) trademark.

You're really going to have to consult with an IP lawyer to help you find an available and viable trade name, but that's cheaper than defending a lawsuit.

Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Unfortunately, there are rarely black and white answers to these questions. They are always fact specific. The above comments are right on. The practical issue you face is whether you can (a) afford to re-brand or (2) afford to fight them off with a response letter which put's your best foot forward. Often times, a well drafted response letter from a trademark attorney will stop further threats. While you have to pay an attorney fee to have such a response to their threat letter drafted, it may be less than what it will cost you to pick a new name, lose your web site and traffic and re-brand. .