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using trademark in URL

by hartingale
9 replies
I am thinking of starting a ticketing website for a specific venue. I intend to use the name of the venue as part of the domain with another word, eg. venuetickets.com

I am a bit fuzzy about the possible issues here. I don't think it is domain squatting or trademark infringement. I am not intending to pretend to be the official website of the venue, but merely a ticket office.

Where would I stand if they were to complain?
#trademark #url
  • Profile picture of the author Chris Grable
    The short answer is "You will be violating their Trademark".

    Sorry!
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  • Profile picture of the author daniar
    Banned
    I agree with Chris, if you have bought the domain name, you should get a refund quickly
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  • Profile picture of the author xlfutur1
    I've been sent threatening letters on 2 occassions on this kind of thing. You may be fine for awhile, but eventually someone will complain. Its tempting to select those domains that have alot of searches for certain trademark names, but its best to avoid it if you want to stay out of legal hot water.
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  • Profile picture of the author oliverwinston
    If the trademark holder contacts you and makes a claim of trademark infringement they could make you turn the domain over. However, not all trademark owners will know or contact you. I can tell you eBay and twitter are notoriously diligent in coming after domain name infringers. There is also something called "fair use" but you would have to prove that, things like parody sites and Criticism sites, for example, paypalsucks.com.

    For what its worth, we run several domains with trademarks in them and haven't been contacted since the domains were registered, some as long as eight years old.

    Some of our IM peers run huge sites with very famous brand names and haven't been contacted.

    Something else to think about is the type of site you are going to put up. Does the site glorify the brand or disparage it? You will probably be more likely to stay under the radar if you have a site that helps to further the brands goals.
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    Originally Posted by hartingale View Post

    I am thinking of starting a ticketing website for a specific venue. I intend to use the name of the venue as part of the domain with another word, eg. venuetickets.com

    I am a bit fuzzy about the possible issues here. I don't think it is domain squatting or trademark infringement. I am not intending to pretend to be the official website of the venue, but merely a ticket office.

    Where would I stand if they were to complain?
    At best, on the outside looking in. At worst, next to your defense attorney after the bailiff calls out "all rise..."

    Let's say I tried to get away with MadisonSquareGardenTickets.com or even MSGTickets.com.

    Joe User does a search and sees that url in the results. How likely is it that Joe might assume that it's an official site? Pretty likely, I'd say. And so would the MSG legal team.

    It would be pretty obvious that, even if you didn't pretend to be an official site, you did intend to cash in on the venue's name for your own enrichment.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Fair use does not apply for a commercial site. They can take your domain from you at any time. It might not be until your site is well established and making money. Makes no difference ... when they want it, it's theirs. It is cybersquatting and it is trademark infringement. At the least, you can end up with a cease and desist letter ... at the most, they can sue you. It's their choice.
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  • Profile picture of the author misterkailo
    I'm sure your objective is to make money and not end up selling all your assets to cover for lawsuits.

    Even if you are not in trouble now, you might end up in serious trouble 5 years later.
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  • Profile picture of the author activetrader
    Originally Posted by hartingale View Post


    Where would I stand if they were to complain?
    There are many valiables. It depends on whether their trademark is registered, distinctive, or a generic word that has not aqcuired distinctiveness, etc.

    Since it looks like you are specifically looking to include their trademark in your domain name it is apparent that you intend to use it in its trademarked meaning, not its generic meaning.

    A print out of this thread could be presented as evidence if a dispute were to arise. This could also prove that infringment was willfull. Willfull infringment is worse than innoccent infringment as far as the amount of damages the other party can get.

    The short answer is, unless you have a half million dollars to defend a federal suit, don't do it.
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