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can I use trademarks in domains name

by zoobie
7 replies
hi warriors, I have a legal question, can I use
somebody else trademark for the domain name?

What is that for is to sell that products online
or join some affiliate programs to sell these
online.

Thanks

Proson
#domains #registration #trademarks
  • Profile picture of the author LynnM
    No. Not unless you want letters from their lawyers.


    Lynn
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  • Profile picture of the author awesometbn
    Hello zoobie,
    You can always do whatever you want. But at some point you will have to deal with the consequences. In this case, you can register a domain name that includes a trademark. I don't think there is anything that would stop you from the registration and payment. The problem might come later, when the trademark owner finds the domain name, decides the name is trademark infringement, and then begins legal action to not only take the domain name from you, but also to sue you for damages. Including court costs you could expect to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars because of a tiny little domain name that you bought for $8 or $9 dollars.

    The legal action you can expect to see would be in the form of a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice sent to you by the trademark owner or by their lawyers. See google.com/dmca.html for an example and explanation of a typical DMCA notice. If you cannot be contacted for any reason as the person who registered the domain name, the next stop after the domain registrar will be your web hosting company and your Internet Service Provider.

    And by the way, I checked with auction sites like flippa.com where plenty of domain names are being sold with trademarked names, and they said they will only stop or suspend an auction after they receive the DMCA notice. My recommendation (this is not legal advice) is to avoid using somebody else's trademark for your domain name. It just isn't worth the time or effort.
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    • Profile picture of the author davezan
      Originally Posted by awesometbn View Post

      The legal action you can expect to see would be in the form of a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) notice sent to you by the trademark owner or by their lawyers.
      Not a DMCA notice, but a Cease and Desist (C&D) letter. As the name implies,
      DMCAs address copyright and not trademark issues.

      Then again, I've seen some idiot lawyers (and no offense to those here) send
      DMCA notices over what turn out to be domain-trademark infringement cases.
      Those I know who specialize in this can't help but chuckle if their clients get
      such, and they tend to ignore them.
      Signature

      David

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      • Profile picture of the author awesometbn
        Originally Posted by davezan View Post

        Not a DMCA notice, but a Cease and Desist (C&D) letter. As the name implies, DMCAs address copyright and not trademark issues.
        Thanks for making that point. The response I got back from flippa.com was that they would only suspend or cancel an auction if they received DMCA. Now I see where the confusion starts. The DMCA notice received by flippa.com would be a "take-down" notice from the copyright owner. Meaning they want the auction to stop because it violates their terms of service and copyright law. The other issue about trademarks used in domain names is not meant for remedy by DMCA, it is addressed with C&D and other things like the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA). Below are some references that helped me to sort it out.

        FAQ about Trademark -- Chilling Effects Clearinghouse

        Intellectual Property | Electronic Frontier Foundation

        Top 5 DMCA Mistakes | PlagiarismToday

        Hope this is helpful to others.
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  • Profile picture of the author zoobie
    ok thanks for the explanation. Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author TheRichJerksNet
    Sure you can if you want to deal with the actions of those copyright holders.. The only way you will ever get away with this is if you build a not for profit website. Yes some others seem to do it and nothing gets done to them but at some point and time they will have trouble...

    Stay away from trademarked stuff... Be creative and think up your own domain names.

    James
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  • Profile picture of the author digitalboyz
    seriously, NO.

    You will get sue if you do this.
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