business name- domain name registration

[babaz]

I have been trading under business name which was registered in 2004 with the National Business Register, lets call it "toogle". The business is internet based and as such I registered the corresponding domains with the tlds: .com. net and .org i.e. toogle.com, toogle.net and toogle.org.

At the time toogle.co.uk was not available however I was not concerned since there was no associated website. Recently however a website has appeared on this domain name however the name of this business is "toogle communications". Furthermore, their logo appears suspiciously similar to our own.

My question is, since I have registered the business name "toogle" and am trading under it am I enitled to the domain name www.toogle.co.uk? and if so how should I best go about it.

Finally, would it be possible for a company to set up called "toogle ltd" and acquire the domain names which I have registered, if so is there any form of protection against this.

 

[fastfences]

Hi babaz.

In the absence of legal advice, it is my belief that domain names are totally independant of Registered Business Names. The National Business Register seems to be a body that has no affiliation with any govenrnment body, and as such, is not in a strong position to enforce/restrict the duplication or similarities of business names. That, however is a seperate matter.

The mere registration of a business name, or Limited Company, does not, by default, entitle you to the appropriate domain name. If it were available, you could construct a site 'McDonalds .com' or 'McDonalds.co.uk'. You would though, face a 'flurry' of legal action if your product was distinctly similar to the famed McDonald's. So, you have no entitlement to 'www.toogle.co.uk'

Anyone can set up 'toogle ltd.' but they will have no access or rights to your names which are already registered to you. They could though, offer you a fee to purchase the names.

Certainly, there will be/have been variants to this, such as a law suit by Bill Gates over the use of www.windows.com, but you're really mixing it with the high flyers in that league.

You have copyright over your logo. Can you obtain any proof that the 'competitor' may have sourced it from your business, or may it simply be a 'strange' coincidence?
Kind regards, Nigel

 

[Astaroth]

Not a legal expert on this topic either but have been approached and had domains bought from me on a number of occasions when people have thought my domains are rather close to their trademarks.

May be worth reading:

http://www.nominet.org.uk/DisputeResolution/AboutTheDrs/BasicGuide/

As this is the dispute resolution service offered by nominet (the organisation which controls the .uk top level domains)