trademark
How and when can protected trademark be broken by someonse else?
<p>I have an application called <strong>2oobbllee</strong>.</p>
<p>I have received an email from owner of the <strong>Dobble</strong> trademark saying that I infringe its rights.
Is it true?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I opine that the choice of yours remains disputable. You are flirting with our name and there is no other reason for you to do that other than to capitalize as much as you can with the fame associated to DOBBLE.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Are they right? I don't understand that law.</p>

<p>A person who uses a name similar to an existing protected trademark may have committed trademark infringement. The trademark owner can sue, and possibly collect significant damages, and possibly also get an injunction against further infringement. Note that this is not a matter of a crime, but of a lawsuit by one person or business against another.</p>
<p>(A point of terminology: A trademark, like a copyright, is said to be &quot;infringed&quot; when someone uses it without permission in ways that the law does not allow. The word &quot;broken&quot; is not used for this.)</p>
<p>In many countries, only marks properly registered with the appropriate national registry are protected. In the US simply using the mark can lead to its being protected, although registration can give greater rights to the mark owner.</p>
<p>Protection in one country does not give protection in another.</p>
<p>In general, protection only applies in the same or a similar market area as that in which the mark is already being used. An electronic game may well be similar enough to a card or board game for protection to apply.</p>
<p>A key question is how similar a mark can be and avoid infringement. The basic test is if a reasonable person could be confused into thinking that the products were from the same maker, or were affiliated, or that the maker of the original product or service endorsed the new one. This is always something of a judgement call. If a mark is similar enough that a judge or jury <strong>might</strong> think that some reasonable consumers would be confused or mislead, then there is risk of an adverse judgement.</p>
<p>Note that even an unfounded suit may be costly to defend. If there is any question, consulting an experienced trademark lawyer may well be a good idea.</p>
<p>I will  not express an opinion of the similarity of &quot;2oobbllee&quot; and &quot;Dobble&quot;. That would be legal advice. But if the OP were to change the name of the app, the whole matter would seem to be finished with no risk of court action.</p>
<p>Note that the <strong>concept</strong> of a game, unlike the name,  cannot be protected, neither by trademark law nor by copyright law,</p>
