I have a copywrite question

congaman59

New Member
I'm starting a business. I am thinking about naming it after a government "ABC" agency, as far as using the letters not the complete name. What are the pitfalls of doing this as far as making my website look somewhat like the agency's? How much different does it have to be to stay out of trouble? Can the fonts background colors and graphics be the same, or similar? I don't want to get anyone here in trouble so if you know the answer and wold want to do this by email, just post your website link in your response, and I will email you.
 

anna

New Member
I'd be very careful if I were you. It has to be an "independent creation" to not be in violation of copyright. Couple of questions:

1. Is it the same type of business industry you are emulating or something completely different?
2. Are you making money off the business or is it non-profit.

If you can prove that your business is very different and there would be no cause for confusion by customers, then you may be in the clear. However, if the other company can prove that your business is a copy of theirs (and by using the same colors/graphics, it won't be difficult to do), and even has a similar name, then you could be in trouble.

If you do a search, you can find all kinds of parameters to follow. Good luck!
 

GeneticOpera

New Member
I wouldn't use their images- that's theft. And why use the same design scheme for a different purpose? That would make it seem like you're copying them. As a rule you should only choose ONE similarity. If you're using a similar name then you need a different color scheme. If you're using a similar color scheme then you need a different nam- and never, ever, steal images from someone else's website unless you ask the owner and/or pay for the images.
 
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