Does anyone now if that company has any kind of trademark or registration of “I Buy Ugly Houses”?
I would bet they do. They also have franchise opportunities for i think it was a $40,000 minimum.
that is homevestors, they are nation wide. i would not toy with the phrase. how about “i Buy uckinFugly HOuses”?
Too late, my guy started putting the signs out today. Only 50 of them in an up and coming older section of the city. There is no homevestor franchise here yet. I looked into it and the fees were high.
I find ithard to believe that a company could have a trademrk on something like
I Buy ugly homes. That is why they changed it to Ug buys homes.
Tim
Well I did a search for “homevestors” on the trademark website http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm .
“I buy ugly houses” is not registered to homevestors. It might be registered to somebody else. “We buy ugly houses”, “Ug buys ugly houses”, “Ugly’s Ok”, “Homevestors” “We buy ugly houses. Homevestors” are trademarked.
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=8nl6ts.3.3
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=8nl6ts.3.15
Henry,
Good research.
Now, I can get a trademark on whatever I want, that doesn’t mean it is going to stand. I buy ugly houses or ugly houses is too generic to be trademarked. I beleieve Bill Bronchick did a article or posting on this.
Tim Jensen
Not only that, but even if you do trademark it, the orginal company can prove “first use” and get your trademark revoked.
Damn, if someone else had bandits printed up 2 days before them they could knock it out…dang… :o
The Homevestors site claims to have successfully sued “dozens” of people. You might also find this thread interesting:
http://www.reiplace.com/newsgroup/read.php?f=1&i=37363&t=37363
Just Google “homevestors sues ugly houses” and see what you find.