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Trademark Trouble
IMR, Nov. 24, 1997Last year, Scott Silverstine created a Web site for his Harrisburg, Pa., distributorship, SRC Business Forms. But the site, then called www.srcdeals.com, didn't just catch the attention of potential customers. Standard Register Company noticed it, too. The Dayton, Ohio-based large manufacturer had trademarked the name "SRC Direct" in 1995, and officials there balked at Silverstine's use of "SRC." Attorneys for Standard Register sent Silverstine a letter telling him he was in violation of the trademark, and that if he kept using the SRC name, Standard Register would file a claim against him in federal court.
Silverstine hired an attorney, who contacted Standard Register. He had been using the SRC name (which originally stood for Scott and his two brothers, Randy and Craig) for nearly 20 years and had never had a problem with it, even though he competed against Standard Register in the Harrisburg area. But he decided not to fight the trademark. "Just to hire an attorney in Ohio to argue to get the case moved to Pennsylvania would have cost $5,000 to $7,500," he says. "And to argue in federal court-we're talking $25,000."
Instead, Silverstine found a new name for his business, DOXPress Inc., which he's been using since May. This time, he researched names beforehand to make sure none of his choices were trademarked. It wasn't easy to come up with an original name, he says. For example, he considered Scott Graphics, but he feared potential conflicts with Scott Paper. "If you use a typical name, you run into that kind of problem," says Silverstine. "I decided I wanted to get more of a nonsense name to really reduce my risk of problems." DOXPress stands for "Do Only Excellent," and he is applying for a service mark to protect that name.
Silverstine recommends that distributors check for trademark conflicts before naming or renaming their businesses. Even if a business is small, the Internet allows companies from around the country to discover whether another firm is using a similar name to theirs. Silverstine used the Atlas Trademark Search Web site which allows visitors to check active and pending federal trademarks for a $5 fee. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office site also offers information. Silverstine cautions that these informal searches are not foolproof, but they're better than nothing and probably all a small company needs.
Despite the hassle with his name change, Silverstine remains a fan of doing business on the Internet. "In one week, I opened four new accounts on the Internet," he says. "They ranged from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Florida. And last month I opened up seven or eight brand new accounts through the Internet, all totally outside this geographical area. It opens up tremendous opportunity."