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"However, when you hear "Stripe, Inc", you are probably thinking of the payment processor incorporated in Delaware. Here, though, you are talking to the "Stripe
by wiradikusuma 9y ago
"However, when you hear "Stripe, Inc", you are probably thinking of the payment processor incorporated in Delaware. Here, though, you are talking to the "Stripe, Inc" incorporated in Kentucky." -- how is that possible to have identical company name in a country?
- mynewtb 9y agoIs it an uppercase I or a lowercase l?
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- mikeokner 9y agoCompanies are registered at the state level, but names are trademarks that are overseen at the federal level. The real Stripe could probably sue and force a change of name due to trademark infringement, especially since the fake Stripe's primary business seems to be online as well. The real Stripe probably couldn't sue and force a change if someone registered another Stripe, Inc. in a different state who paints lines on roads or something.
- rgbrenner 9y agoBeing online isn't a business. stripe.ian.sh does not compete with stripe.com, and there's zero risk of consumer confusion between these two websites. Stripe.com has no case for trademark infringement.
- mikeokner 9y agoIf I were Stripe.com's legal counsel, I'd have already fired off a C&D. Stripe.ian.sh isn't trying to subvert traffic, but the entire point of this exercise is to show how it's possible to be confused for the real Stripe.com under certain circumstances. It's a fine line and if I were from the real Stripe I wouldn't want to let those sorts of grey areas go unchallenged.
- rgbrenner 9y agoFree speech is a defense for trademark infringement, especially non-commercial speech. Showing how someone could theoretically be confused is not the same as actually being confused. Consumers aren't confused by someone writing an article about a company... that's not trademark infringement. A trademark does not give you rights to prevent people from writing about your company.
- patmcguire 9y agoArticle has screenshots of it intentionally looking like the stripe homepage. Guess that was an older version, and now it's just a blog post, but it has had the exact same look.
- agwa 9y agoNo, the screenshot shows a window containing the real Stripe overlapping a window containing Ian's site: https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/safari.jpg https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/safar... Ian was not impersonating the real Stripe.
- AnimalMuppet 9y agoBecause there simply aren't enough names. Trademark doesn't care if you use the name Ford, for example, as long as you don't use it to sell cars. They care about "name + line of business", not just about "name".
- Danihan 9y agoBasically a composite key