Is this even legal?

by Alson

Posted: 12 years ago 17 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

hi all ,

i believe when it comes to IM , we would like to build something sustainable,

i have came across sites like

Nikon Rumors

where they have used trademarks names within their domain names,

is this even legal?

i understand at their footer of the site they placed information such as as:

Disclaimer: This site has no affiliation with Nikon USA or any other subsidiary of Nikon. Please visit the official Nikon website at nikon.com. All trademarks and brands belong to their respective owners.

do advise!

#legal

Sandra Martinez 12 years ago

Hi,
only attorneys can give legal advice and I am not attorney.

The urban legend around says that you can use the trademark as long as you don´t monetize whatsoever. if you make a dime, it is illegal.

I can´t say it is true or not, haven´t tried it.

Sandra
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spearce000 12 years ago

Originally Posted by Alson

do advise!

What is or is not legal varies from country to country, but it's best to avoid using someone else's trademark in your domain. You're opening a whole 'can of worms' if you do.

Just my 2 pence. Usual disclaimers apply.
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Eddie Titan 12 years ago

Originally Posted by Alson

is this even legal?

Yeah this is Trademark Infringement. It is not legal in the US.

& you can loose your domain name to the company that owns the trademark. However people still buy domains because they don't know or they do know but they decide to take the risk to reap some kind of reward (e.g. to make it easier to rank in the search engines)
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Rod Cortez 12 years ago

If Nikon is a trademarked term then they are not allowed to use it without permission in most instances, but there are exceptions. It's quite possible that IF it IS a trademarked term (I would be surprised if it wasn't) then they might not have contacted them yet or they did and they have chosen to ignore the cease and desist letter (happens all the time) and there might be something else going on behind-the-scenes that we are not privy to. I mean, look at Paypalsucks dot com, they're still up and around, but I think they've found a loop hole because they're still around.

Then again, if the site is hosted in another country it might be more difficult to enfore the trademark laws.

About 10 years ago I put up a website that had the word Sony in it. It took about 2 years before I got a cease and desist letter from a Sony agent. I scanned it to my Intellectual Property Attorney and he said I had no choice but to take the website down or change the domain name because it was a commercial website run by a corporation.

I'm leaving out a lot of subtleties in the law, but that's it in a nutshell. Where's Brian when ya need him?

RoD
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Alexander K

12 years ago

I'm not a lawyer either.

But good rule of thumb, if something is trademarked, don't put it in your domain. You may or may not ever get in trouble or caught, but why risk building something and then lose it?

Just my opinion, no legal expertise.

Thanks
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atvking

12 years ago

I'ts ok if its "nominative use" but this is subject to broad interpretation. Good examples are the above mentioned Paypalsucks.com

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davezan

12 years ago

It ultimately depends why you want to do it, and who you're dealing with.

If, say, you want to use someone's trademark in your domain name to criticize or
make fun of without making money off of it, that's allowed. Nominative use or fair
use is also fine under specific, exceptional circumstances.

While this shouldn't necessarily be treated as an authoritative source, this should
give you a few ideas:

Nominative use - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The nominative use test essentially states that one party may use or refer to the trademark of another if:
- The product or service cannot be readily identified without using the trademark (e.g. trademark is descriptive of a person, place, or product attribute).
- The user only uses as much of the mark as is necessary for the identification (e.g. the words but not the font or symbol).
- The user does nothing to suggest sponsorship or endorsement by the trademark holder. This applies even if the nominative use is commercial, and the same test applies for metatags.

If you aim to use that to, say, write news or commentary about it, this post by a
Warrior lawyer can also give some guidance or rule of thumb:

http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5007597

Rule of thumb: if the judge looking at your review site is impressed with your site and information provided, you're in good shape. If the judge starts puking from the generic PLR, advertising everywhere, and lack of real product reviews, then you have a problem.

Emphasis: those are guides, not gospel. IANAL, and HTH.

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David

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Micah Medina

12 years ago

You've got to remember that businesses are legally obligated to protect their intellectual property.

If they don't, it establishes a nasty legal precedent.

If you don't want to get that nasty C&D letter, I'd lay off.

i understand at their footer of the site they placed information such as as:

Disclaimer: This site has no affiliation with Nikon USA or any other subsidiary of Nikon. Please visit the official Nikon website at nikon.com. All trademarks and brands belong to their respective owners.

do advise!

I'm much more interested in knowing if the OP is affiliated with nikon rumors.

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RefundHost 12 years ago

Nikon knows about the site, no doubt.
And if they view it as PROMOTIONAL ( causing sales )
then they may choose not to do anything to impede it.
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edwood

12 years ago

I think that most corporations would take a dim view of this -- even if the site is promoting their products in a positive manner. Basically, the prefer to have the maximum control possible over all things pertaining to their image.

I seem to remember a few years back that there was even an issue with using trademarked names in meta tags. Can't remember the details any more. Anyone else remember something like that?

Michael

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davezan

12 years ago

Originally Posted by edwood

I seem to remember a few years back that there was even an issue with using trademarked names in meta tags. Can't remember the details any more. Anyone else remember something like that?

Michael

Technology & Marketing Law Blog: Keyword Metatags are Back...Will Judicial Freakouts Continue?

Originally Posted by Alson

alright , as im cosindering to place www.CompanynameCountry.com . i am in no way affiliated. just wanting to check , example can someone create a www.Amazonasia.com

If that company name is also being used as a trademark by them, that can create
problems for you still. Bottom line is you will likely get into trouble if you intend to
register a domain name bearing someone's trademark to make money out
of that without their permission.

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David

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Alson 12 years ago

alright thanks so much for all the views !
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Alson 12 years ago

alright , as im cosindering to place www.CompanynameCountry.com . i am in no way affiliated. just wanting to check , example can someone create a www.Amazonasia.com
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Toasted75 12 years ago

I'm not a lawyer either, but I think you'll find that 'news' is largely exempt... otherwise all the big newspapers and tv channels would be sued out of existence everytime they published something negative about a company

There is also a Mac Rumors website and no doubt quite a few other big ones out there too.

...but generally no - using trademarks is kind of asking for trouble
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giseo 12 years ago

They can grab your domain. Not worth the hassle IMHO.
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golf69 12 years ago

Hire a lawyer to answer any questions you may have...a little money spent now can save you thousands and a headache later.
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BlackRob 12 years ago

I am no lawyer, and this sort of question in my humble opinion, is best left in the hands of the legal eagles.

That way you can be sure of the best advice and you will be able to see a clearer picture than you would from me.

Sorry I can't be of help.
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Is this even legal?

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