Two Questions about Trademarks and Domain Names

Well, I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, however the term itself may not be an issue, it is more of how you use it.

For example. If you bought a domain like AmazonProductReviews.com and put products from Amazon.com on the site that would be bad.

If you had products that were say health products from ingredients from the Amazon region, you could be ok.

Some trademarked names are a little more unique and have only one meaning, so it would not be advised to use them.

Not a lawyer, either. But I'll share what I've learned from actual lawyers with
real-world experience on this, and whoever can also correct me if I'm wrong.

1. What that simply means is whoever (at least) filed that application did not
pursue it any longer for whatever reason. They can still have what's called a
common law trademark if they're using that in commerce or so.

2. Not sure nowadays, but I've personally seen domains used as trademarks.
Some are even registered at USPTO, though mostly attached to entities.

Bear in mind the USPTO is not the one and only authoritative source for TMs.
It only applies within the U.S., and others exist for those in other jurisdictions.

One might have to make an exhaustive search if they really want to eliminate
any possible trademark infringement or confusion. If anything, you'll have at
least a few possible ideas.

And as you noticed, even common words and phrases are used as marks. An
important thing is to ensure it doesn't possibly "confuse" users with any mark
that's possibly out there, which (admittedly) isn't always easy to determine.

Good luck on your venture.

Good questions.

We may be able to offer slightly better--though non-legal--opinions if we knew what the term was. However, that wouldn't be a smart thing to do, but this is what I think (but I'm not a lawyer).

First, check with a layer.



Second, what is the first thing people are likely to think of when they hear the name. There was a time when if somebody mentioned 'Yahoo', they were referring to character's in Gulliver's Travels. If they think of the brand first, or would even be likely to think of the brand then you need to proceed carefully.

Third, I hope you're able to use the domains without too much hassle, they sound like good ones.

All the best,
Michael

You can use any trademark name in a site name, just like you can write a book titled I love Coca Cola.

The trademark filing is "abandoned", so there is no trademark consideration. It's like it never happened. Only if it's registered will it have trademark rights.

In most cases (under most Top Level Domains) proving "bad faith" in the registration is a requirement of challenging it. That means running ads of competitors on your site (PPC feeds may do this without you realizing it), or offering to sell it to the trademark holder.

In this case it's all a non-issue, the filing has been abandoned. If they refile later your domain will have been created prior to their filing date, which should be an open and shut case in your favour, unless you have demonstrated "bad faith".

Keep in mind that their are technically 2 different kinds of trademarks 1.) A registered Trademark (as you have found in the database of trademarks) which is identified by a circle encompassing the letter "R",... and 2.) an unregistered Trademark (Which is still legally binding) identified by a "TM" next to a brand name/image. Both forms of trademarks are admissible in court of law, however a registered trademark is naturally easier to prove in court.

Ok, now that we have that out of the way, The trademark in question was abandoned, which places it in the "public domain" category. You can pay the x amount of dollars to re-registrar the same mark or you can create a new mark with the same name & either submit a new registry or simply use the "TM" after your mark everywhere you show it. You'll also want to print a copy of the abandoned trademark report that show a date of abandonment. File this somewhere it wont get lost in case questions arise in the future, you can then prove the trademark was abandoned & then supply the date you created your mark to replace it.

An abandonment simply means the previous trademark owner is in default of paying for another 7 years, thus rendering the mark vulnerable in the public domain for re-usage. Keep in mind though, that they may be using a "TM" now even though their registry has expired, in which case they would still have legal claim.

It's best to contact a copyright / trademark attorney in your area to be sure of course. My suggestion is to just create a unique brand / mark in a separate market niche so that it qualifies as a new trademark even if they are still using the abandoned one.

Good luck to you

I thought Abandonment meant that they never followed through in the process of registering it. In the example it says "NO STATEMENT OF USE FILED".

I don't know about the 7-year renewal thing. I hold several trademarks in Canada older than 7 years and have never had to repay anything. I have one in the US but it's not 7 years old yet.

Val.S.
I believe "drifter73" explained real well.
However, next time you do like a domain first run it through:
"valuate.com". Enter the domain in question and you'll get the result including the value. Now, here's the interesting part. If the domain might have an issue with trademark, you'll see an orange triangle in the very far left. Place the mouse over and will display everything about it, including the chances you have to be notified by the holder.
Meharis