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infringing on a domain trademark

by redsox123
12 replies
say i were to buy a domain that read like www.watchfunnyvideosfromyoutube.com could i buy that legally would there be any problems, etc?
#domain #infringing #trademark
  • Profile picture of the author Mark Singletary
    Probably NOT okay but in the end the only ones that can answer this question are the domain registrar if they decide to take it from you and give it to the trademark holder and/or the judge/jury that is deciding the lawsuit filed for violating a trademark.

    Mark

    Originally Posted by redsox123 View Post

    say i were to buy a domain that read like www.watchfunnyvideosfromyoutube.com could i buy that legally would there be any problems, etc?
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  • Profile picture of the author Mark Singletary
    Buying a domain name that has a trademark in it, in and of itself, is no problem from everything I know.

    The problem comes when someone tries to profit from that domain name or puts it up on a website or tries to resell it or whatever because then the intention is pretty clear: they want to take advantage of the trademark for their own gain. That's where the problems start popping up.

    Of course I'm not a lawyer and am probably totally wrong so I'd suggest you get legal advice from a qualified attorney.

    Mark
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    • Profile picture of the author CyberAlien
      Originally Posted by Mark Singletary View Post

      Buying a domain name that has a trademark in it, in and of itself, is no problem from everything I know.
      I was under the same impression but I have heard of some larger companies going after people just for registering the domains - even when there was no content on them. Haven't heard of any of those cases going to court though.
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      • Profile picture of the author Mark Singletary
        Originally Posted by Escalate Internet View Post

        I was under the same impression but I have heard of some larger companies going after people just for registering the domains - even when there was no content on them. Haven't heard of any of those cases going to court though.
        Now that you mention it I'm sure I've heard that too but forgot about it when answering the question.

        That's a good reason for people to not ask or answer questions like this here and leave it to the professionals that don't "forget" things like that.

        Mark
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  • Profile picture of the author redsox123
    so in your opinion how should i handle my purchase?
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    • Profile picture of the author CyberAlien
      Originally Posted by redsox123 View Post

      so in your opinion how should i handle my purchase?
      You should consult with an attorney instead of people you don't know on an Internet marketing forum.
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by redsox123 View Post

      so in your opinion how should i handle my purchase?

      You should handle it by not registering a domain name with Youtube or any other trademark in it. It's really a crappy domain name to start with. I'm sure you can do better than that without infringing on someones' trademark, particularly someone as big as Youtube.
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  • Profile picture of the author HelpingYouBeAnExpert
    People are trademarking all kinds of common words now, they are evil control freeks. One guy put a very comom word in his domain name, got a letter from lawyers to stop or get sued, ti's just sick what is going on.
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  • Profile picture of the author DubDubDubDot
    I'll go out on a limb and say if you develop watchfunnyvideosfromyoutube.com and have only YouTube video embeds and monetize it using only AdSense, they probably won't say anything. That's the best case scenario though. You'll never be able to expand out beyond that.

    I would think long term and use something else.
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    • Profile picture of the author SlicedGenius
      It's a grey area - it might not be illegal, but it's certainly possibly bending some form of regulation.

      Again, the issue will only come up if it's clear you are trying to make a profit from it (even if you don't succeed in making a profit!) or if you do anything to damage their reputation.

      You could be forced to stop using it, you may have to surrender it with no compensation - and in the worst case you could face legal action.

      Also keep in mind, that it will close some doors for you too. Affiliate programs have in their terms that you can't use domains with their brand in them. Some sites have filters to refuse domains containing big brand names. And it could prevent you from selling the site at a later date.
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  • Profile picture of the author Donald Truehart
    Technically, they can nail you for that, but likely won't care.
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  • Profile picture of the author datingworld
    Originally Posted by redsox123 View Post

    say i were to buy a domain that read like www.watchfunnyvideosfromyoutube.com could i buy that legally would there be any problems, etc?
    I don't want to disappoint you but why would you want to register such a long domain..
    first of all the domain name doesn't look good.
    it has 27 characters in it. I dont think your visitors will be happy to be typing in such a long domain name.
    The domain name has a "youtube" mentioned in it which is a problem.

    Register a brandable domain without a fear of being sued.
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