Thanks for the input guys- i see if i used the name Porsche i'd understand, however the name Carrera i really think they are just being nasty!

 

A long time ago US courts established the precedent that companies must defend all known cases of trademark infringement or they effectively surrender the rights to defense of that particular trademark. Carrera is a registered trademark of Porsche. If they selectively let known exceptions slide, outside of properly licensed uses, then they cannot enforce it anywhere. It is not really an issue with Porsche in my opinion; they are doing what they must. Maybe it is an issue with our broader legal system.

 

I’m not a lawyer, but I do participate in my company’s decisions about defending trademarks that we own and have some perspective and suggestions that might be helpful. Be sure to run them by your counsel should you see merit in any of this.

While your small business isn’t a direct threat to Porsche, it’s an indirect one. That’s because the owner of a registered trademark (and you can be certain that Porsche has registered “Carrera” as a trademark) generally must be uniform in restricting others’ use of the trademark, else it becomes indefensible against anyone. The ballgame here is preserving the ability to defend the trademark against infringement when it matters, but oftentimes that means the trademark owner is required to pursue the little infringer that, in isolation, isn’t a concern. That’s the situation you’re in with Porsche. Your exposure is 100% of the profits you’ve made while using their trademark. They won’t go after you because they want your profits, but rather because they have to.

Porsche’s objective to push you off their trademark can be done in a structured way. I suggest that you respond to Porsche and propose that you’ll rename your business and that you need 24 months to transition. (They’ll push for a shorter time, but you can probably do what you need to over 12 months.) Pick a new name—let’s say “StuttgartMotorSports”--and market it in everything you do as “formerly CarreraMotorSports” over those 24 months to shift the goodwill you’ve built under the old name. Keep the “CarreraMotorports.com” domain for the time being but redirect it to a new “StuttgartMotorSPorts.com” domain. Devise a new logo and put it alongside the old one for the 24 months. At end of the transition period, cease using anything with “Carrera”, unlink the two domains and sign over the old “Carrera” domain name to Porsche if they want.

Porsche should only care about your consumer-facing materials, and won’t give a rip about what your LLC is named as long as you’re not doing business as (“DBA”) anything that involves one of their trademarks. If you keep the current LLC name you might need to make a DBA or fictitious name filing with your state. Else, if you want your DBA and actual name to be the same, you should be able to simply change its name rather than dissolving it and starting a new LLC.

Ask the Porsche lawyer to draft up a simple document that outlines the agreement, and review that carefully, and/or have your lawyer look it over. This agreement with you will preserve Porsche’s ability to defend their trademark against others, which is what they’re after with you.

Moral of the story is don’t market goods or services without first doing the trademark/service mark research on the name you wish to use… but it happens all the time. This is a specialized (and expensive!) area of the law with which many small business/general attorneys and business owners are unfamiliar.

Hope that helps, and best of luck.

 

Sad to hear that Tarek... pretty soon, you won't be able to call "911" in the event of an emergency!

 

StormRune and I were posting simultaneoulsy. Sorry for the duplication.

 

Big corporations are ruthless. They don't care and they will fight you , all the way to court.


You should of saw McDonalds go after a restaurant in Scotland , called McDonalds. It was a little hole in the wall and it was 4 generations old. McDonalds didn't give a crap and made them change their name. honestly, I don't think the place was 800 square feet.


RUTHLESS

 

I wonder whether Porsche and Tag-Heuer have deal going...

 

"Hello, 911, what's your emergency? Oh, sorry, we can't take your call because Porsche has trademarked this line. Please hang up and call them directly."

 

I'll bet they served better hamburgers too.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this informative structured write up- you gave me alot of info that i needed.

I will take your advice & contact Porsche back & ask for the simple draft. Thanks again.

PS: StuttgartMotorSports does sound good, but it too maybe trade marked by them..lol, and sounds way too "Porsche" & "German" i think Carrera sounded a little more broad yet still giving up the vibe i was looking for....

DONT SHED A TEAR FOR ME BOYS...ILL BE BACK....NINE-ONE-1 MOTORS? but no, I'm Egyptian can't use those numbers or next thing u know i'll be selling cars out of Guantanamo..

 

Did you guys hear about the guy who patented his "Asian American Chopstick"? Someone company stole his idea and started selling his chopstick!

When he tried to sue, the first question asked by the patent lawyer was if he had like $100,000.00 for a retainer fee. I guess they would not lift a finger without a big down payment.

This was in the LA Times years ago --- just sharing some news of reality/life.

 

"Let's say ... " as in don't be so literal with his suggestion. For example, you could also pick "Mr. DumasMotorSports" and I'd wager that would be available ...

 

I checked with the TradeMark office & they stated that they reserved that name specially for you!

 

I've already got this one, thanks:

www.treoholdings.com

Three brothers -- trio -- but spelled with an "e" -- thus TM'able -- get it?