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Buying Domain Names With Celebrity Names

by Krishna876
4 replies
Hey Everyone,

Quick question about buying domain names with celebrity names.

Should I do it or not?

I've come across a few with good search volume and I figure these names arent copyrighted and there could be more than one person with the same name but maybe I'm overlooking something.

Someone with some insight, please help me out.

Thanks...
#buying #celebrity #domain #names
  • Profile picture of the author Sergiu FUNIERU
    I wouldn't risk it. A celebrity might have his/her name as a trademark and can sue you for using it.

    Even if there are more persons with the same name, is still posible for the celebrity to register it. For instance, for all I know, Mike Filsaime is a registered trademark.

    Sergiu FUNIERU
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  • Profile picture of the author adamj2
    I think some celebrities will have their people on the look out for sites cropping up that try to make money out of their name.

    Although someone else could have the same name, if it is obvious that the site is taking advantage of the name of a celebrity then they may not like it.

    Having said that, there are a large number of celebrity sites in the fitness market that do very well with the terms 'celebrityname workout' or 'celebrityname diet' etc. and they seem to stick around so maybe you would get away with something like that.

    But in general, taking advantage of the latest trends in celebrity popularity sounds like it could do very well if timed right and you have a suitable product to promote alongside it. There are always new films and songs coming out, so getting the timing right with something like that could do very nicely indeed!
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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    Originally Posted by Krishna876 View Post

    Should I do it or not?
    I'm not a lawyer but I say "not".

    Using someone's name for commercial purposes (and you are planning to monetise, I think?) is breaching their civil law rights.

    If they're celebrities, they may be able to afford a lawyer. They may well even have a PR agency or law-firm on retainer actively looking out for such things.

    I think you can get sued, can lose the domain, can lose any money you've ever ever made from the domain, and so on.

    But, as I said, I'm not a lawyer ...

    How would you feel, if you were famous enough to be a celebrity and someone did that using your name? Would you be happy about it? Might you want to do something about it? (Perhaps that's a better answer and one doesn't need to be a lawyer, to look at it that way).
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  • Profile picture of the author davezan
    Originally Posted by Krishna876 View Post

    I figure these names arent copyrighted
    You mean being used as trademarks. But if they are using their names to make
    money off of them, then they essentially have established rights even if they're
    not "formally" registered.

    It depends on what kind of celebrity you're looking to target, though. Not all of
    them, such as politicians or favored athletes not endorsing any products, have
    like inherent intellectual property rights unless maybe granted by some applicable
    law.
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    David

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