Statutory Law Rights - justweb™ Trade Mark
justweb's statutory law rights and common law rights are founded on its use
of the names Just Web and JustWeb as well as registrations:
(a) of JUSTWEB as Australian trade mark registration no. 1246825 in class 42;
(b) of Just Web as business name registration no. NSW BN98208779 in New South
Wales; and
(c) of justweb as a domain name registration in the .com.au space, namely
justweb.com.au.
Arising from its considerable use, Australia-wide and over many years, of the
names "Just Web" and "JustWeb", justweb™ has proprietary legal rights to goodwill
and reputation associated with quality products and services it has provided and
continues to provide. Such use:
(a) commenced in April 2006;
(b) has involved provision of products and services to hundreds of customers;
(c) has involved customers who reside or are based throughout Australia; and
(d) has involved a range of services, provided currently and in the past,
including - website search engine optimisation services; website development
services; website design, development, and maintenance; audio-visual design;
graphic design; software interface design; information architecture design;
ecommerce consultancy; consultancy, development, integration, support, and
maintenance services in the field of online applications, email list management,
computer software and computer programs; design, development, hosting and
maintenance of data storage, amendment and retrieval systems; computer
programming; information security services; and quality assurance services for
computer programs, software and interactive multimedia.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The following FAQs are relevant to cases where justweb™ has made demands against
people who have breached our trade mark. Why people would want to register a
similar business name or domain anyway is beyond me. There are two possible
reasons actually - ignorance or just blatant "trading off".
Why has my business registration been allowed to proceed, yet you claim a
trade mark?
This is simple. State business registration departments (such as Fair Trading
NSW) only do local checks on other business registrations. They do not perform
trademark searches. That is up to the registrant to do. If you do not search prior to
registering your business name, and you breach someone's trade mark, it may become
very expensive down the track with legal fees, as well as establishing a new
business name.
I've registered my domain name, and used the words "just" and "web" in it. Is
that ok?
If you perform any services that come under Class 42 (General services), then
the answer is definitely not. For example, you may register
www.justwebbrisbane.com.au. You have essentially used our trade mark in your
domain name. As with the business name registration, auDA do not perform ATMOSS
or ASIC searches. They are only interested in your eligibility to
own that domain name from a services point of view.
If, for example, you are a pest extermination business, perhaps specialising in
spider removal, and you register www.justwebservices.com.au, because pest
control is not covered by Class 42, this is acceptable.
Will you buy my domain name off me if you demand I no longer use it?
No. You, your business advisor or your lawyer should have performed the
appropriate checks first. It takes 2 minutes to do a trade mark search on ATMOSS, and the same for an
ASIC search.
What if I register and host a domain name overseas?
If you are based in and operate in Australia, then the justweb™ trade mark is
enforceable. There are quite a few "just webs" around the world - UK, Italy,
Germany, USA, etc. However these are owned and operated by citizens of those
countries.
Why do you pursue people using the name "just web"?
When justweb™ was first registered as a business, there were no other "just webs"
registered. Having experienced previous problems with regards to people trading
off an earlier business which was successful, but not trade marked, we were
determined to make sure justweb™ is trade marked and covered.
What is the difference between the symbols?
You may only legally display the ® symbol if you have a registered trademark. If
you display a registration mark, but you do not have a trademark, there are
penalties. You can display a ™ symbol if you believe you have a common law
trademark, but you should consult your legal counsel for advice first. Anyone
can display the © symbol on their own work, or to show it is the copyright of
another party.
Class 42 (as described in the IP Australia website)
Goods & Services - Class: 42
Website search engine optimisation services; website development
services; website design, development, hosting and maintenance; audio-visual
design; design, development, hosting and maintenance of audio-visual data
storage systems; graphic design; software design; software interface design;
information architecture design; ecommerce consultancy; consultancy,
development, integration, support, and maintenance services in the field of
online applications, email list management, computer software and computer
programs; design, development, hosting and maintenance of data storage,
amendment and retrieval systems; computer programming; information security
services; and quality assurance services for computer programs, software and
interactive multimedia.
References and links
Search for Australian business names through ASIC
and search for registered trademarks through IP Australia
(ATMOSS)
justweb™ uses and recommends the services of:
Dilanchian Lawyers & Consultants
The University Centre, 210 Clarence Street
Sydney NSW 2000 Australia
Tel (02) 9269 0229
Email
noricd@dilanchian.com.au
Web www.dilanchian.com.au