 Re: International name infringements
Short answer is, I don't know/ask a lawyer.
But, here's a possible scenario I can think of of what could happen:
Company Them has a registered trademark on Clothing Line.
Company You starts a business under the name Clothing Line (in a different country).
Company Them uses the Madrid Protocol to easily register a trademark in your country based on their pre-existing trademark.
Company Them sues Company You.
Here's another one:
Company Them has a registered trademark on Clothing Line.
Company You starts a business under the name Clothing Line.
Company You is in business for a while, and applies for a trademark on Clothing Line.
Company Them is now alerted to your existence, challenges the mark, registers it in their name instead, and you are forced to change your established Clothing Line name.
Or here's one you might like a little more:
Company Them has a registered trademark on Clothing Line.
Company You starts a business under the name Clothing Line.
Company You is in business for a while, and applies for a trademark on Clothing Line.
Company Them is now alerted to your existence and challenges the mark.
Company Them has no established business in your country, didn't try to establish any prior to you, and meanwhile Company You has firmly established Clothing Line in your country.
Company You is granted the trademark.
Downside of that:
Company You decides to expand into Company Them's territory. Oops, can't.
So will you run into problems? I have no idea. Not necessarily. But could you run into problems? Certainly. So there's a few things for you to consider before going ahead, some of which depends on how big the other company is, how big you are likely to be before facing any challenges, and (perhaps most importantly) which two countries you're talking about.
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Ceci n'est pas une autographe.
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