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So whats the deal with having a business name in the url?

by Sillysoft
4 replies
*I meant what is the deal with having a business name in the domain name, sorry.

So I bought a couple of domains from auction this past week, they were coupon domains with the business name in them such as businessnamecoupons.com (These domains are hard to come by).

I've been reading in this forum and people say not to buy domains with company names in the URL? I don't understand, what is the difference between buying a domain with a business name in the URL compared to buying a generic domain and having that business's information on the page? If I bought pizzacoupons.com and then wrote articles and displayed information about Pizza Hut, Dominos, Papa Johns etc, wouldn't that still be an issue? Its not like I'm competing against a company or selling their product, actually I'm prompting their brands. Look at peopleofwalmart.com, as far as I know walmart hasn't tried to sue them. Maybe I'm looking at it wrong, any thoughts?
#business #deal #url
  • Profile picture of the author Sillysoft
    Any thoughts?
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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    Originally Posted by Sillysoft View Post

    *I meant what is the deal with having a business name in the domain name, sorry.
    It's (mostly) about trademarks.

    Originally Posted by Sillysoft View Post

    I've been reading in this forum and people say not to buy domains with company names in the URL?
    Mostly, they say "trademarks", not "company names" (I'm no lawyer but I think there can sometimes be issues with company names, too, even when they're not trademarked).

    Originally Posted by Sillysoft View Post

    actually I'm prompting their brands.
    Not always relevant.

    Owning a trademark effectively carries obligations as well as rights. When someone wants to renew their trademark, it can sometimes be held against them if they've failed to protect it. For this and other reasons, some companies will pursue all breaches of trademark, even when people are promoting their products.

    Originally Posted by Sillysoft View Post

    Look at peopleofwalmart.com, as far as I know walmart hasn't tried to sue them. Maybe I'm looking at it wrong, any thoughts?
    Yes, two main thoughts ...

    (i) It's a far more complicated matter than many people imagine. There are some permitted of other people's trademarks in domain-names, but generally not anything commercial;

    (ii) Forums aren't the appropriate place to ask for or to take legal advice: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...al-advice.html
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  • Profile picture of the author Domainate
    Besides free speech protection (which is only valid if the site is not being used in any way to profit from the trademark), you CAN request usage of the trademark in the domain from the trademark holder. That said, it's not a good idea to do that AFTER you got the domain.

    In any event, contact an IP attorney in any event if you're really wanting to proceed with using the domain and want to make sure of whether it's safe or unsafe.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mountainw
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      Maybe I'm looking at it wrong, any thoughts?
      That's often the case because people can think up a lot of reasons why something they want to do "should be OK". That's normal. But - your reasoning won't help if a company comes after you for trademark infringement.

      Google trademark protection and trademark infringement (stick to authority sites) and you'll see why this can be a bad idea.

      Understanding basics of copyright and trademark protections is something site owners need to know.

      kay
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