bears73

As a newbie I have read over and over about the importance of having keywords in your domain name. However, what are the legal implications of having a product name in your domain name. I know that there are possible legal issues, but how real are they. I've purchased several video programs, and a number of authors say while they know there are legal issues, they have never experienced any problems themselves using a specific manufacturers product name in their domain name.

I'd appreciate real world answers to this question as I honestly don't know the real world risks.

If there is a similar thread, I'm sorry for the duplication, and perhaps you could direct me to it.

webtrading

Whoever said that is not very well informed or just lucky. Very real legalities ranging from the many UDRP/WIPO cases to numerous Federal Court lawsuits for Lanham Act and copyright vlolations. There have even been cases where a lawsuit is filed in Federal Court for 6 figure amounts with no notice and the trademark owner never once contacted you to ask for the domain.

ChrisBa

Typically I try to stay away from trademarked terms (ie. walmartgiftcards.com, appleiphones.com, etc) - typically days to weeks that the domains go online you will receive a letter from the company lawyers demanding you transfer to the domains to them and cease and desist..

In my opinion, it's always better to be safe than sorry

Gary Gomez

Agreed, stay away from them like the plague unless you are working with networks that specifically allow them, its OK for short term hit and run but never for a long term business

Dean Dhuli

I think it varies from case to case...

While you should definitely NOT have words like iphone
or walmart in your domain name, if you're just reviewing
a specific product and your domain name says
"canoncamera3452dlrreview.com" I think they'll be ok with it.

But that said, don't just take my word for it.



- Dean

HairyPoppins

This. I had a friend build a netflix site and that lasted for about 3 days. All that work wasted.

Andrew Zapp

Yes there are implications. For example, Amazon.com does not allow any form of their name to be used in any domain names. Also, their products such as the kindle, kindle fire etc. Any play on the name as well can result in a legal issue between each other. Try sticking to the niche the product is in and you should be okay.

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Thierry Samuel

yeah, I agreed with Andrew. I saw people have making some bucks from amazon aff but then all gone since azon directly warn him cause his domain made up the keyword for specific product, but just in cases for niche keyword it would be fine.