Quote:
Originally Posted by Far-L
Ok dude-fella-man. You go back to getting your legal advice from tv shows and I will keep working with the top IP law firms in the country.
You go ahead though; tell it like it is! Power to the people! Right on! Why don't you ask Nasty Dollars how they feel about their mark being infringed up then we can discuss it further.
He feels bad about something he created? Are you kidding me? HOMEGROWN VIDEO WAS AN AMATEUR BRAND BEFORE YOU WERE EVEN BORN MOST LIKELY. Homegrown Video has been working on that brand identity for 30+ years. How much time did he put into building it?
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First, I am no expert in trademark infringement, etc. I'm actually thinking this is in Homegrown Video's favor, as "homegrown" isn't a frequently used descriptive word in adult (aside from HV, of course). If I saw a domain called homegrownamateurs, I would assume it to be related to HV, because they've branded themselves so well in adult, specifically the amateur niche.
However, Far-L, I'm in disagreement with your claims about Nasty Dollars and their trademark. Unless I misunderstood what you said, it seems you are stating that any domain using "nasty" in an adult context is infringing on Nasty Dollars' trademark. "Nasty" is a far more generic term in adult than "homegrown," so I believe what applies to your trademark doesn't apply to theirs. Nasty Dollars' trademark applying solely to the word "nasty" in the adult industry would be akin to you guys actually being granted a trademark on "amateur." Take my name for example: "Naughty Visions." When I decided on this name, I honestly had no idea who Naughty America was (I know, they've been around for ages, but it's true). When I "discovered" NA, I paniced a bit. I did worry about whether they would find my name to be infringing on theirs. But in the time since, I've seen tons of other companies/people using "naughty" in company and domain names. With words like "naughty" and "nasty," I think it's more of how the use is represented. Whenever I register a domain with "naughty," I pause and think if it would seem like something NA would do. In addition, I make sure that my logo/lettering looks nothing like their logos/lettering. I'm probably a bit too paranoid about it, but I'd rather err on the side of caution as to not step on toes. (Any Naughty America reps here to tell me I'm cool?
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Anyway, my point is that I think (and I'm no one when it comes to IP law), I think that "homegrown" is enough of a unique (and branded) term for this to go in Homegrown Video's favor. I mean, think about it, when you mention or talk about Homegrown, a lot of the time you don't even include the word "video." But, you don't refer to Naughty America as "Naughty," or Nasty Dollars as "Nasty."
/end non-legal advice ramble