Cease & Desist letter

[Tractivate]

Hi, I'm wondering if I could receive some initial advice on a cease & desist letter I have recieved. The dispute is over barnd, copyright UK IP

[atticus]

Welcome to the forum.

Please explain the position and ask your questions.

[Tractivate]

Basically, in the nutshell. My company name is Tractivate and I sell pet trackers through Amazon (Started June 24) A larger, more established company (Tractive) have sent me a cease and desist letter with a series of demands. I have the word "Tractivate" UK00004013143 registered with the UK IPO

Both Tractiavte & Tractive mainly sell pet trackers

Whilst I understand the names are similar, they are claiming that I am benefiting from their brand and confusing customers

[PallasAthena]

From a quick look at the websites of the two companies Tractive appears to be an Austrian company, Tractive GmbH. Is this the company which has sent you the C&D letter?

Is this the website of the Tractive company that has sent the C&D letter? Tractive GPS Tracker for Cats and Dogs with Activity Monitoring | Tractive

Is this your website, Tractivate? Smart Pet Tracking Device | Tractivate

I'm am not qualified to comment on whether they could confuse potential customers in a legal intellectual properrty sense but I have to say that as an average pet owner and member of the public the two sites seem very similar to me. From the respective Amazon pages the two products look to be identical in appearance.

[Tractivate]

Thanks for this.

Am I in a posiiton to go back and negotiate or not?

[atticus]

You do not say the grounds of the complaint against you. I am guessing that your company may be accused of "passing off", that is trading under a name that is confusingly similar with the complainant. From what you say, Tractive may well have a point.

Can you afford a fight against a larger company? By all means try to negotiate, but you may find that the other party's lawyers take a very hard-nosed stance.