Help HN: How do I stop my start-up from being bullied?
After going live, the site built quick momentum. With that came both pros and cons. The CEO of Freelancer.com, Matt Barrie, called me directly and threatened to sue me for breach of trademark infringement if I didn't change my name. Furthermore, he removed the feed from our site, resulting in less projects being posted on the platform. Asshole.
When I first started working on this project, I was under the assumption that dictionary words cannot be trademarked in the industry they serve a purpose for. I then transferred all the files to the new and worse name, Searchfreelancejobs.com. It's pretty lengthy, however the name Freelancer.fm was a gem, and we had all our users trusting the brand.
What do you guys think I should do? Lose users and let them know we had a name transition? Get a trademark attorney to fight the case with Freelancer.fm? Any advice is welcome. I'm sure I'm not the first and certainly not the last.