Ask HN: If "TUVW" is a registered trademark, can I register "TUVW Online"?

5 points

16 years ago

Yesterday, I finally came up with a good name for the startup I've been working on. It's an online 3d (not so-) MMO game. Let's call it "TUVW" (not the actual name). I was able to buy the TUVWonline.com domain (ok since TUVW.com is squatted). Yay!

Now, there are a few businesses with registered trademarks TUVW. I want to register the trademark "TUVW Online". What concerns me is that one of the other registered trademarks is for a media (not games) company property named TUVW.

Is this a show-stopper? I'm in the process of asking a couple of lawyers, but I thought I'd throw the question out to HNers, as well.

Thanks!

EDIT> I should add that TUVW is a place-holder for a 4 letter English word. It's not an acronym, nor a made-up word.

4 comments