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Brand name domain name question - sort of

by Ralph Moore
17 replies
I have read with interest the discussions about possibly running afoul of companies when using their company or product trade name(s) in a newly purchased domain.

However, I have a somewhat unique situation, and I am not sure how it would play out.

There is a company with a product whose trade name consists of a noun and a verb.

By strategically inserting a few letters, the keyword phrase still contains the noun, but the verb becomes a new verb and the meaning of the phrase changes somewhat.

What is everyone's take on this? Thanks for reading.
#brand #domain #question #sort
  • Profile picture of the author MilesT
    My take is - ask forgiveness and not permission. It sounds safe to me.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ralph Moore
      Thanks for the reply.

      Obviously, I would be getting the juice for the product, but there would also be competing products from other companies in the same market on the site.

      (Review site)

      I probably will go for it.
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      • Profile picture of the author marbig
        I would go for it if I were you. I have known domain names pretty similar if not that same as other companies but with a .net or a .biz instead of a .com
        But what you are proposing is a lot safer and different enough from the main company name.
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        • Profile picture of the author Ralph Moore
          Originally Posted by marbig View Post

          I would go for it if I were you. I have known domain names pretty similar if not that same as other companies but with a .net or a .biz instead of a .com
          But what you are proposing is a lot safer and different enough from the main company name.
          That is what I am thinking. The interesting thing is, it could be a very lucrative site if I can get it to convert.

          Thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike McAleer
    Go for it I think it will be fine. It should not matter unless it is an exact match on the trademark
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  • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
    Ralph,

    You might want to read about a guy called Michael Rowe who thought he was perfectly safe to register a domain for his little website company: "MikeRoweSoft.com"....
    Microsoft vs. MikeRoweSoft - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    John.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ralph Moore
      Originally Posted by John Henderson View Post

      Ralph,

      You might want to read about a guy called Michael Rowe who thought he was perfectly safe to register a domain for his little website company: "MikeRoweSoft.com"....
      Microsoft vs. MikeRoweSoft - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

      John.
      Thanks John, I'll take a look, but I really think this is a bit different.
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      • Profile picture of the author VegasGreg
        Originally Posted by eagle View Post

        I have read with interest the discussions about possibly running afoul of companies when using their company or product trade name(s) in a newly purchased domain.

        However, I have a somewhat unique situation, and I am not sure how it would play out.

        There is a company with a product whose trade name consists of a noun and a verb.

        By strategically inserting a few letters, the keyword phrase still contains the noun, but the verb becomes a new verb and the meaning of the phrase changes somewhat.

        What is everyone's take on this? Thanks for reading.
        HOLY CRAP THERE IS A LOT OF BAD ADVICE ON HERE!


        Now, the information you are giving us is not enough to help answer your question, nor are most of us lawyers.

        Just having certain words in your domain name is not necessarily a good or bad thing, it is the intent of your site and how you use it.

        Example: BuyCheapStuffAtAmazon.com and listing items for sale at Amazon.com would be bad. TravelToTheAmazon.com and selling vacation stuff would be good.

        If you are just trying to make a few changes to the words but still capitalize on the trademarked companies business you are setting yourself up for a nice lawsuit.



        Originally Posted by MilesT View Post

        My take is - ask forgiveness and not permission. It sounds safe to me.
        That is a nice thought and works in some cases, but when you are breaking the law it is a little different. When you get sued for $150,000+ for each offense, you just don't tell the attorneys "sorry".

        Originally Posted by FreshDomains View Post

        Go for it I think it will be fine. It should not matter unless it is an exact match on the trademark
        Will you pay his legal fees when you find out it isn't safe?

        Originally Posted by marbig View Post

        I would go for it if I were you. I have known domain names pretty similar if not that same as other companies but with a .net or a .biz instead of a .com
        But what you are proposing is a lot safer and different enough from the main company name.
        More bad advice. Thanks for contributing (to the downfall of society)
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        • Profile picture of the author Ralph Moore
          Originally Posted by VegasGreg View Post


          If you are just trying to make a few changes to the words but still capitalize on the trademarked companies business you are setting yourself up for a nice lawsuit.
          Close, but not exactly. It is more like part of a phrase that people normally search for contains a trade name related to the search term.

          The other thing that makes this difficult is that I am quite sure many people routinely miss-spell a word that I was thinking of including.

          I have to re-think the whole thing now.

          Thanks for the advice.
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        • Profile picture of the author TeamGlobal
          Originally Posted by VegasGreg View Post

          HOLY CRAP THERE IS A LOT OF BAD ADVICE ON HERE!
          This is not legal advice, nor is it to be construed as legal advice. Legal advice with regards to intellectual property is best discussed with qualified legal counsel.

          Greg, You hit the nail on the head with a golden hammer.

          eagle, if you really want to know there really is no substitute for going to the source. You would be surprised how many times you will be granted permission.

          I personally found out about trademarks in domain names the hard way. I was sued on 3 separate occasions by one of the largest media companies in the world. I wish I could tell you that I told them to get lost...no...I openly admit that I had some sleepless nights...especially when looking at possible damages in the high six figures.

          I learned a valuable lesson from my experience. If you are unsure about your ability to do something, get sure! If you ask permission first and get it there will be no reason to ask for forgiveness.

          All The Very Best,


          Tony
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  • Profile picture of the author Sparhawke
    Right, this is my take on the situation...are you asking our permission to take a TM name?

    I say do not do it, someone might claim to get away with it but it is only a matter of time and you will get pooch screwed eventually...

    I would read up on the utterly fantastic NamePros site, particularly their legal forum and stickies...there is a lot of information geared specifically to domain names and issues.

    Generics good, trademarks bad. <<< Thats pretty much all you need to know though.

    By the way, don't ask for permission to do something dodgy on a site like this, speak to a lawyer...even if you can hunt one down in a pub and buy them a beer.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ralph Moore
      Originally Posted by Sparhawke View Post

      Right, this is my take on the situation...are you asking our permission to take a TM name?

      I say do not do it, someone might claim to get away with it but it is only a matter of time and you will get pooch screwed eventually...

      I would read up on the utterly fantastic NamePros site, particularly their legal forum and stickies...there is a lot of information geared specifically to domain names and issues.

      Generics good, trademarks bad. <<< Thats pretty much all you need to know though.

      By the way, don't ask for permission to do something dodgy on a site like this, speak to a lawyer...even if you can hunt one down in a pub and buy them a beer.
      Uh, nooooo....

      I wasn't asking permission from anyone to do anything. Nor was I asking for tacit approval from anyone on here.

      I was asking for more information, just like you (and many others) provided - thank you very much.

      The more I think about it though, I'm not sure that a domain name based on a keyword phrase that closely matches a trade name is going to be of any special benefit as there are other phrases that may work even better.

      Thanks to everyone who responded.
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  • Profile picture of the author sirkaliber
    My take is- better safe than sorry. Just pick another name.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sparhawke
    I think my point was misunderstood...if you have to ask whether it is okay to do a potentially dodgy thing that is your conscience telling you it is a bad idea lol

    Some companies are extremely aggressive with their marks, earlier MikeRoweSoft was mentioned but Microsoft are not the only ones who go after their TMs, Ebay are extremely aggressive...they will even sometimes go after legitimate names that have nothing to do with them like ChesapeakeBay.com or something lol

    Usage is very important with going after domain names that might have issues, not just from a naming standpoint but also where your traffic may come from standpoint...there was a case a while back where a very famous domainer got problems with his ChilliBeans.com domain simply because traffic was coming to find a music group or something similarly unrelated even though his domain was generic and should be exempt from such issues.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ralph Moore
      Originally Posted by Sparhawke View Post

      I think my point was misunderstood...if you have to ask whether it is okay to do a potentially dodgy thing that is your conscience telling you it is a bad idea lol
      I probably did not explain it well in my OP. It has nothing to do with my conscience. I won't even take the free mints at a restaurant, because I won't give anyone the occasion to accuse me of stealing. (Really.)

      I guess it's more of a legal question, but man, I really would hate to have to pay an attorney to clarify a gray area over a $10 domain name.

      Yeah, I know, if I get it wrong, I will be very $orry to say the lea$t.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ralph Moore
    Thanks Tony.

    I actually did think of that and I will do so if I pursue this.

    Probably though, I will end up going with another domain name.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sparhawke
    Okay, crash course in the basics

    A generic domain which anyone can legally own without ensuing the wrath of any company is that which is descriptive of a specific product or service like Auction, Book, Computer Software...Ebay, Amazon and Microsoft would all probably love to get those trademarked for themselves but it is not going to happen. The reason why is that they are in such common use that no one company can lay claim to them.

    Now, Aspirin was invented around the 1850s but the name was never effectively protected, in time everyone started calling every painkiller Aspirin so no particular brand stood out. That is why today I can buy Aspirin.com and none of the biggest pharmacutical companies in the world can come after me. The product/brand has become generic, just like cola has...anyone can register that but no one can register "coca cola" because it is the name that defines them and lets them stand out

    A company will go after all infringements of their name simply because if they do not defend them they could lose them...if it came to be that ebay ended up as the de facto replacement word for auction then pretty much anyone could completely rape their business and flood the market with dodgy auction sites that have no true affiliation but do have the name.

    They cannot afford that to happen so they do come after squatters hard

    Another way to look at things however is usage, if you have Amazon.br you could be well within your rights to make a site about the basin in Brazil because it is a legitimate use...however having affiliate links would be a grey area lol (Similarly Apple cannot stop you buying Apple.ag or whatever and blogging about your orchard, however encroaching on their niche of computers will get you in the brown stuff)

    If in doubt, always avoid or read the posts and answers from lawyers in this forum section of NamePros, particularly John Berryhill who has been involved in some pretty high profile cases
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    “Thinking is easy, Acting is difficult
    And to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world ~ Goethe”
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