Patent Attorney and Founder
Question:
Hi, I’m about to launch my health coaching business online. I’ve purchased a domain for it. Now, I realized that:
- (A) Someone else is selling a product with that name, which fits my niche but it’s not a service like mine, and it’s not trademarked.
- (B) There’s another brand with a similar name; it has one extra letter in the middle of the name. That brand has a registered trademark and is a supplement for dental issues, so it’s in the health space but not in the coaching space.
I really like the brand name and it’s very difficult to find one. If I ever wanted to trademark my name, could that be a difficult thing? How would you handle the situation?
Answer:
JD: Good question. This is not necessarily a domain name issue, but I’ll touch on that briefly. In terms of trademark law, the main concern is to avoid causing confusion in the marketplace. Customers should not be confused about the source of a product or service.
JD: If they’re looking for a coaching service and type in a name like “Spirited Coaching,” and there’s another business coach or self-development company with a similar name, that could be an issue. However, if the businesses are in completely different classes or industries, such as health coaching versus a health supplement for dental issues, the likelihood of confusion is much lower.
JD: For example, you can have “McDonald’s Hamburgers” and “McDonald’s Furniture Company” because they’re in completely different industries, and there’s no customer confusion.
JD: In your case, health coaching and a dental health supplement are different enough categories, and there shouldn’t be much confusion. You might still want to consult with a trademark attorney to ensure there’s no risk of infringement and to explore the possibility of registering your trademark in your specific industry.