| In the absence of some additional facts, there is not a correct answer to the question. I would want to know whether the trademark application was filed on a intent-to-use basis, or based upon prior use. If it is the former, you are probably okay, although there are a couple of things you might want to do now to avoid the expense of a dispute. Having the privilege of spending lots of money to be proven right at some point down the road is not everyone's definition of "winning".
If the application is based on use, then I would want to know what is their alleged date of first use relative to the domain name. Then I would want to know some more facts about you, your geographic location, their geographic location, and the details of the correspondence you mention above.
(insert usual comments about the use of the word "trademark" as a verb instead of a noun)
Federal registration of a trademark confers certaining rights pertaining to a trademark, but it does not confer a "trademark". I can perfectly well apply tomorrow for federal registration of a famous trademark I have been using for 100 years. Neither the filing date of the application for registration, nor the issue of date of a registration certificate, is the last word on whether I would have enforcible rights against you relative to a domain name you registered last week.
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John Berryhill Ph.d., esq.
John-AT-johnberryhill.com
Please do not send private messages via dnforum.com, email me directly. |