ParkMark is changing names
I received a notice today from the Google Android Market. ParkMark has been suspended due to the cries of http://www.securedcarparks.com They are claiming a trademark violation in the UK. I don’t know why Android Market support didn’t simply disable the app for that location. Instead, the app is now suspended and I’m completely unable to update it.
This is unfortunate and it would have been nice if the UK Park Mark guys would have simply sent me an email saying
“Hi, we exist and have that name already. Plus the UK has some screwed up trademark laws. Please change your app name. Bye!”
Perhaps that would have been too easy for them. Needless to say, ParkMark will be changing names soon as I would still like to offer it in the UK. I will post the update asap after Android Support un-suspends my app.
Are there any lawyers out there that would like to chime in on this? Trademark law is confusing to me and I somewhat feel that the dill weeds over at Secured Car Parks are merely exercising their lawyers. I’ve been led to believe that I can still use the name ParkMark as long as it is not used in the UK. Also, how closely related must a product or service be to be considered a trademark violation?
Since my ParkMark is software and helps people find their car, that is too similar to the UK ParkMark which operates parking lots? What about Delta Airlines and Delta Faucets? Are they dissimilar enough that they don’t violate each other? Of course, the last time I was on a Delta flight, I used a faucet in the bathroom. Perhaps they will read this post and start sueing each other.
Anyways, a special hats off to ParkMark UK. Thanks for playing nice and making the world a brighter place, except for the part where you did none of that.