Question regarding website name and already Established Business

[Rolypoly]

Hi there!

I wasnt sure if this was in the right section of the forum, but it is E-commerce based so I thought I would give it a go.

First of all, I am not a Business person and have very little knowledge of legal matters and copyright laws etc which is why I am asking here, so please bare with me if this should be common knowledge.

I am looking to start up my own Party supplies website which looks to sell childrens party accessories such as balloons, bunting, tableware, and fancy dress. I have spent some time over the past few weeks thinking of a unique name which is also available. Last night something popped into my head which I thought was perfect. I looked into it and found the .co.uk and .com are available so got quite excited. Before deciding to purchase the domains I did a little research on the name and unfortunately found that there is a company out there with a similiar name. While the name I found was 2 words, with the main 'word' being the same as this already established company. The fact that the word is quite uncommon and rare Im worried that by purchasing the name but with a small added on word attached, people may feel that I am attempting to falsely portray this already established company.

Im not sure if it makes much difference but where as my website will focus on party supplies, hen/stag party accessories and fancy dress, this already established company focus on wedding supplies and hen/stag party supplies only, so we are not identical, but just very similiar.

Does anyone know where I stand with this? Am I ok to go ahead and purchase the domains and start the website this way? I feel that because alot of the products are different from that of my own, I wouldnt have a problem with consumers getting confused between the 2 websites so in that regard, there would be no problem.

 

[WolfStores]

Hi there,

From past experience with some of our own customers if the domain name that you are thinking of registering includes a word such as EBAY, BMW, DKNY or a similar big company/brand name, I would advise you not to touch it as it will get you into trouble irrespective of the items that you intend to sell.
These big companies invest millions in building their brand names hence they are also very aggressive in protecting them.

Please feel free to PM me if you need more help with this

Best Regards,

Tim

 

Without knowing what the exact names are, it is difficult to be too detailed in response tbh.....but if you are already having concerns, maybe you have answered your own question and should think of something else to keep yourself unique?

 

[antropy]

The fact that the word is quite uncommon and rare.

So both words are dictionary words? It's harder for a company to protect a generic word that already exists rather than a made up name.

I'd say go for it and change the name later if you have to, domain names are cheap. I think it's pretty unlikely you'd get in to trouble.

 

[deniser]

I would advise you not to go for it at all.

Think of a unique name. Otherwise all your efforts into SEO, marketing and all the money you spend on printing could be completely wasted if they have a grievance either for breach of trademark or passing off.

Your sectors are very similar - there may well be confusion.

You should also check the trademark register and Companies House register of companies which you can do online free of charge if you haven't already done so.

 

[AlexB]

E-commerce industry is now trending in the market. The success of E-commerce made many people develop E-commerce site script. The script should be error free and efficient that will make the site reliable.

 

[ILilja]

I think you should let it go and start all over with something unique and descriptive which is easy for people to remember and which they will associate with your business. Imagine all the customers you'll lose from visitors who meant to go to your site but typed in your (almost) competitor's url instead!

What's strange though is that your competitor hasn't purchased the .com and .co.uk domain which you have in mind, if it's that similar (just for redirecting)?

I disagree with the comment above that you can just change your name later. So many efforts go into the branding and marketing in that important initial phase of starting up your business, so you really should have your business name in place from the beginning.

Good luck!