What do you do if someone is infringing your intellectual property?
So they're infringing your trademark,
they're using the same name as your business name,
maybe they're copying
parts of your course.
What do you do?
The first thing to do is to make sure that
you actually do have intellectual property rights.
So check to see you've got your trademark registered.
Having a business name is not the same
thing as having a trademark registered.
If you only have a business name and
don't have a trademark
then you might be in a bit of trouble.
If you're claiming that they're infringing your copyright
--in, say, a course you've developed--
check to make sure that you own
the copyright in their course.
How do you do that?
Well, when you created the course
was it original content that you used
or did you get that content from somewhere else?
Did you use images you found on the internet
and don't actually have a license for?
Because if you don't own the intellectual property
then there's not much you can do.
If you discover you maybe don't
own the intellectual property,
that's something you can brainstorm with me.
Book in for a Legal Hotline phone chat with me,
it's not very expensive but we
can explore that point.
So, assuming that
your intellectual property is secured
--you've got your trademark registered
or you're confident that
you own the copyright in whatever's being copied--
the next thing is to let the infringer know.
Now most people like to do this informally,
and it's fine as long as you don't
go overboard with this initial contact.
And so, I prefer that
you do something that is as brief as possible.
The more you say, the more likely you
are to get yourself in hot water.
So something like, “Hi, I’m not sure if you know,
but I own the trademark the Legal Lioness.
I have it registered.
This is the trademark register,
registered number.
Here is the link to the trademark’s register.
Please stop using it.”
And...
Generally, that could be enough
to get them to stop using it.
Unless there’s a complicating factor.
So, this happened to me, actually. When
--With Acacialaw--
another lawyer started using the name Acacia.
The law firm name that I have registered
is Acacia, not Acacialaw.
Was just Acacia.
And this lady was using
Acacia Family Lawyers.
I wrote to her just like I’ve described
and she came back with a very rude reply saying,
“The Law Society said I use this name.”
I went back to her and I explained to her
the Law Society doesn’t govern the use of trademarks
and I recommended that she take advice from an IP lawyer.
She then wrote back to me and said, "Oh,
I’ve decided to change my name
because it’s too much trouble.”
Which actually meant that she now had realized
she couldn’t use my registered trademark.
Now I’ve got a client called Coach Curl.
Tony Curl.
He’s agreed that I can share this story with you.
He had a trademark registered
--or he has a trademark registered--
Coach Curl.
Somebody started using it.
He sent the email that I’ve just described
and she came back really rudely and said,
“You're a coach you should be supporting young people
in business and I've just started my business.”
It was just a very strange, weird rant.
And so he came to me and what we
decided was I would send a stern letter of demand.
Explaining to her that she could not keep
her Twitter handle, she could not keep
her Facebook name. All of that belonged
to my client, as the registered trademark owner.
And I said that to her,
recommended she got an IP lawyer.
Her IP lawyer emailed me back and immediately:
she changed her Twitter, changed her Facebook,
took her website down,
took all references to Coach Curl off social media.
So sometimes if you send an initial response yourself
--as the intellectual property owner--
you will get a good result.
And many of my clients have.
Occasionally, you'll get that result like we got with
Coach Curl, where they push back a little bit .
And in that situation, it is best to get a letter
from your lawyer
--who is an IP expert--
because that just tells them
exactly what your rights are.
And usually that can be the end of the matter.
Copyright can drag on a little bit more
[than trademarks] Because it's not
as well defined as trademarks.
But if you're having a problem with this,
I do recommend don't leave it.
The longer you leave it, the more difficult it is to fix.
If you send an initial message
and you don't get the result that you want,
seek advice from an expert in that particular field
so that you don't have problems later down the track.
And less is more.
Don't say too much because if you do
say too much, you might actually end up
inadvertently
saying something that can be used against you later
Remember:
Silence is golden.
And as the Americans say “You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used against you.”
Yes.
It's best just to talk about the bare
facts and don't say too much, because
you never know what can be used against you.
Good luck with it.