Question about buying a probably trademarked domain name to flip

So - the question is not about "buying" but about "having bought".

Did you check for a trademark? If not, why not - takes only a couple minutes to do it and you could save $10.

I'd check it - if it is a trademark I'd kick myself and call the $10 a loss.

Brian,

Any time a famous person's name (celebrity, sports star, politician, etc) or the name of a specific product or company appears in a domain name, IMO, you should avoid registering the name. Even if it isn't already trademarked (or tradenamed) it still can be registered even after you register the name first.

In the U.S., the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) protects consumers (at least in theory) from being "confused" about a brand or company name. You should not plan to profit from the use of someone else's name.

You may never be challenged or sued. Some who have come here asking this same question about a product name have asked for and received permission from the product owner to use a name (for instance, in an affiliate site). If you get the proper written permission you may be OK.

But I think the safest approach is just to avoid names that refer to specific people (unless it's your name - and even then you could have some issues if someone else has registered your name already) and products or businesses.

The very best to you,

Steve

Or, you can see if there is another sucker out there who will buy it from you for $15.00.

Yes, I think just give that one up. Certainly not going to be able to make any substantial profit without running a big risk. So, I'd say it's not worth it IMO.

This is the link I use to search:

Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS)

Usually the top listing there (basic search) gets me where I want to go.

I have lost an established site before from using a trademarked name in the domain and while the company commended my site they said it had to go.

I knew I jumped the gun.. All good. Namecheap actually gave me a refund. Woop!

Check out this info on domain name disputes:

http://www.bitlaw.com/internet/domain.html#disputes

You may be just fine, as long as you're not using the trademarked name. For example:

OK:
cowboysfootball.com

Not OK:
dallascowboys.com