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You will have to go to the Patent and Trademark Office but concievably he could be correct that you are violating his trademark.

From http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/whatis.htm...

A trademark is a word, name, symbol or device which is used in trade with goods to indicate the source of the goods and to distinguish them from the goods of others. A servicemark is the same as a trademark except that it identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than a product. The terms "trademark" and "mark" are commonly used to refer to both trademarks and servicemarks.

Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark. Trademarks which are used in interstate or foreign commerce may be registered with the Patent and Trademark Office. The registration procedure for trademarks and general information concerning trademarks is described in a separate pamphlet entitled "Basic Facts about Trademarks".

You did exactly the correct thing in trying to check up on his usage of the trademark. Trademarks can "lapse" back into the public domain if the usage isn't exercised. Check out this website:

GigaLaw

In other words if his beef is over your use of two words used consecutively at the top of a website, and he can't effectively document or show how he's been actively using those same two words (presumably, on the internet), I wouldn't expect him to have a leg to stand on.

It just sort of doesn't make sense. Does anybody have a trademark on "Idaho potato", or "Wisconsin Cheese"? ("French champagne" is a slightly different case, since the good friar, Dom Perignon, actually invented the process...) I can't imagine how this yutz could ever claim to have an umbrella protection for "Minnesota Fishing". A quick call to someone in PR at the State DNR, in St. Paul, might be really helpful to you. If anyone's got a claim and might be interested in protecting their usage of the term, it's them.

Or maybe this guy issues his own State-approved fishing licenses...

Don't waste another second on this. If he indeed has a case (I'm not a lawyer but was active in licensing, patent, and trademark isues for several years = been there/done that alongside some pretty good NYC attorneys), he would have retained an attorney who would have known enough to send you legal notice via a registered letter on law office letterhead.

Until then you can and should do (or say) nothing until you receive proper notice -- which you then will bring to your new lawyer in a very timely manner.

If you put this in the hands (fins) of the sharks at this early stage they will own you for no good reason from your point of view and may turn this literally into a Federal case at your expense.

There will be plenty of time for that later if this whole affair is anything but a scam. BTW, the question of exactly how and to what extent the claimant has been damaged by you comes to mind, for openers.

Finally, you should contact your (and his) Secretary of State and perhaps the US Department of Commerce (specifically, the PTO and he Federal Trade Commission) to inquire and report re: a possible interstate internet scam. The "authorities" do not take kindly to weasels representing that they have IP protection that everyone else goes to the trouble of obtaining through legal channels (for a fee to the gummint, of course).

Don't lose any sleep over this. All the best....