Legality of creating a sub-domain name that someone else already owns?

14 years ago

Before you use the name. I would find out if it's been trademarked. As it could possibly open you up for a lawsuit. Be advised I'm no lawyer. So take my word with a grain of salt.

Chad

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mikeink 14 years ago

How would you like someone else riding on your name and taking money out of your pocket?

You may have a serious ploblem doing that.:confused:

I am not a lawyer, or a legal aid person. Be wise to check out first to get the correct answer.
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sbucciarel

Banned 14 years ago

You probably won't have a problem with the person who registered the original name, but you could have a problem if that name you plan on using is a trademark. The trademark owner may not be happy about it.

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WeavingThoughts

14 years ago

Depends on how you use it. As long as you are clear that you are not representing him I doubt he would be able to do anything at all.

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guzze

14 years ago

You can use any name you like for your sub-domain. Think for a minute, what if you chose the name before a big company trademarked or did whatever to their domain? Are you telling me that you will drop the name just like that. It's a free world, check out the story of Froogle vs. Google.

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Alexa Smith Banned 14 years ago

Originally Posted by guzze

It's a free world

In some ways, yes; in other ways, no.

Even things not expressly prohibited by law can sometimes lead to overwhelming inconvenience, expense and regret.

Originally Posted by guzze

check out the story of Froogle vs. Google.

Respectfully, the story of the litigation between Google and Froogle isn't actually too relevant to the OP's question: Froogle had been granted a trademark prior to Google suing them, and my (non-lawyer's) understanding is that what was principally in issue there was a domain-name, per se, rather than just a url.

I think using someone else's trademark in a url is a very different matter from using it in a domain-name.

This thread actually illustrates one of the reasons why it's so inappropriate to request or take legal advice in an internet forum.
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seasoned

14 years ago

I'm not a lawyer, but if you indicate you are not affiliated with them, and it is positive for them, they likely won't mind. this is 3rd level, and not quite as bad as 2nd level.

Steve

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Andrew Davis

14 years ago

I don't think that you would have problems by simply creating a sub-domain with a Trademarked Term.

They won't be able to sue you based on the sub-domain alone.

If they want to make problems for you, it would most likely be based on the content within that sub-domain.
(Copying their Logo, Layout, Slogans, Content, etc... Avoid doing that)

If you are worried, you could put up a disclaimer, stating that you are not affiliated with the company/website in question.

Otherwise, I personally wouldn't worry about it.

There probably won't be enough legal grounds for the company to have a successful lawsuit against you, they may end up throwing away money on legal fees trying to do so.

Because of that, companies usually avoid going through lawsuits unless they have a solid claim against you. Thus, they should not try to make problems for you, unless you are really causing them to lose a noticeable amount of profits in some way. (Or giving them a bad Reputation)

Just don't do anything to upset/harm them and you should be safe.

--------------------
PS: I'm not a lawyer.
Just my personal experience & opinions.

-Andrew

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Jesse L

14 years ago

Originally Posted by damian5000

For example, I want to create a sub-domain called americanmagazinereview.mysite.com, but someone already owns americanmagazinereview.com, do they have any grounds to sue or make some problems for me?

No, no one owns that domain, I just checked...
Might want to hurry though or someone will

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Andrew Davis

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Jesse L

No, no one owns that domain, I just checked...
Might want to hurry though or someone will

I think he used that Domain name as an Example.

The one he has in mind is likely already registered.

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fluffythewondercat

14 years ago

Some of the dumbest advice I've ever read anywhere starts with these five words:

I am not a lawyer.

fLufF
--

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David Keith

14 years ago

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

Some of the dumbest advice I've ever read anywhere starts with these five words:

I am not a lawyer.

fLufF
--

The same can be said for marketing advice. Folks should start indicating if they have a marketing degree or not. There is nothing special about legal advice that makes it so normal people can't have an opinion on it.

Bad marketing advice given on this forum has cost thousands of people significantly more money than the bad legal advice given on this forum.

Maybe all of us marketing "experts" without a marketing degree should start prefacing our marketing advice with "i don't have a marketing degree"

to the OP: I am not a lawyer, but how you use the domain will be very relevant in how much trouble you will likely find yourself in. If you try to piggyback on someone elses success using a subdomain then you can probably expect trouble at some point.

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fluffythewondercat

14 years ago

to the OP: I am not a lawyer, but how you use the domain will be very relevant in how much trouble you will likely find yourself in. If you try to piggyback on someone elses success using a subdomain then you can probably expect trouble at some point.

Well, you made me laugh. I'll give you a point for that.

Unfortunately in too many venues (not just this one), "I am not a lawyer" seems to be the disclaimer that justifies all kinds of damfoolishness.

fLufF
--

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Mike Grant

14 years ago

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

to the OP: I am not a lawyer, but how you use the domain will be very relevant in how much trouble you will likely find yourself in. If you try to piggyback on someone elses success using a subdomain then you can probably expect trouble at some point.

Well, you made me laugh. I'll give you a point for that.

Unfortunately in too many venues (not just this one), "I am not a lawyer" seems to be the disclaimer that justifies all kinds of damfoolishness.

fLufF
--

Is it just as foolish tagging every post you make with your alias when your alias is next to your post and unnecessary on an Internet forum?

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David Keith 14 years ago

Originally Posted by Mike Grant

Is it just as foolish tagging every post you make with your alias when your alias is next to your post and unnecessary on an Internet forum?

tough crowd today
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fluffythewondercat 14 years ago

Originally Posted by Mike Grant

Is it just as foolish tagging every post you make with your alias when your alias is next to your post and unnecessary on an Internet forum?

Is your bathtub filled with brightly-colored machine tools?

Because that question makes more sense than what you wrote.

fLufF
--
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- Mike Grant 14 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat
  
  Is your bathtub filled with brightly-colored machine tools?
  
  Because that question makes more sense than what you wrote.
  
  fLufF
  --
  
  Shame, the person who replied before you seemed to understand the post perfectly.
  
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1byte 14 years ago

Originally Posted by Mike Grant

Is it just as foolish tagging every post you make with your alias when your alias is next to your post and unnecessary on an Internet forum?

Yikes! Are we having a bad day? :p
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dadamson

14 years ago

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

Some of the dumbest advice I've ever read anywhere starts with these five words:

I am not a lawyer.

fLufF
--

Lol thanks for the input fluff!

Personally I think there is a lot of excellent advice here, however I am concerned about the original posters motive.

My question to you is, why? Why do you want to copy someone elses domain? Can't you think of your own?

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damian5000

14 years ago

Originally Posted by dadamson

Lol thanks for the input fluff!

Personally I think there is a lot of excellent advice here, however I am concerned about the original posters motive.

My question to you is, why? Why do you want to copy someone elses domain? Can't you think of your own?

Easy answer, these are common words that have to do exactly with the subject the sub-domain will encompass. It's not my intention to copy. It's my intention to describe what the sub-domain will be about.

My understanding is that common words having to do with the subject / product they're promoting / selling / informing about aren't even trandemarkable (is that a word?) ... For example Apple, but they're not selling Apples. Or Caterpillar, but they're not selling caterpillars... in my example, americanmagazinereview... americanelectronicsreview, goodwebsitereview, these are examples that I THOUGHT you couldn't trademark...Assuming they're covering the subject they describe. That's just my understanding of it though...

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K Mec

14 years ago

Originally Posted by damian5000

My understanding is that common words having to do with the subject / product they're promoting / selling / informing about aren't even trandemarkable (is that a word?) ... For example Apple, but they're not selling Apples. Or Caterpillar, but they're not selling caterpillars... in my example, americanmagazinereview... americanelectronicsreview, goodwebsitereview, these are examples that I THOUGHT you couldn't trademark...Assuming they're covering the subject they describe. That's just my understanding of it though...

I agree,About.com is the good example it this, about.com is using subdomains for each category.

But if you are targetting specifically any domain then it could create a problem.

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1byte 14 years ago

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

Some of the dumbest advice I've ever read anywhere starts with these five words:

I am not a lawyer.

fLufF
--

I am not a lawyer... but I've played one on T.V.

Nah, just kiddin'... but seriously, if you have questions about potential legal issues, you should consult with an attorney who specializes in internet law, technology, trademark infringement, online media and so forth.

Taking legal advice and opinions from people who are unqualified to give it -- which includes most of us here on the WF -- is a sure recipe for disaster. Don't guess, and don't take bad advice (however well-intentioned) and get the advice of a lawyer who knows what he or she is talking about.
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Mike Grant

14 years ago

OP, there's not much for precedence. The consensus among the legal community, however, seems to be that you can find yourself in legal issues dependent upon the usage of the sub domain.

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David Keith

14 years ago

well, i know of 2 major areas where branded subdomains are used (hijacked) a good bit.

in the adult industry, there have been numerous content scrapping type of sites that faced various levels of lawsuits over this. In these instances, the intent was clearly for a 3rd party to profit from the use of a subdomain that had been branded to some degree by someone else. The 3rd party was trying to profit from the branding affects in the same exact industry as the person whose name they hijacked. That won't work.

however, there are lots of automated sites out now that create subdomains dynamically with info such as whois info, domain value.... These sites are kinda profiting from the advertising on such branded subdomains, but so far at least they seem to be mostly ignored since they are not trying to compete with the core business of the (sub)domain they are "hijacking.

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sbucciarel

Banned 14 years ago

Well allegedly, it's not against federal law to use a trademark in a subdomain, but then Google was sued by Jews for Jesus for the JewsforJesus.blogspot.com domain. The case was dismissed by the parties and settled out of court and the blogspot domain now links to the Jews for Jesus site, so nothing is black and white with trademark issues.

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davezan

14 years ago

Originally Posted by damian5000

For example, I want to create a sub-domain called americanmagazinereview.mysite.com, but someone already owns americanmagazinereview.com, do they have any grounds to sue or make some problems for me?

IANAL either, though I follow these things with interest. Closest thing to this is
the Jews for Jesus v. Google dispute if you search for it online, but - like many
civil disputes - it was settled early on.

Put it this way: if you give someone a "material claim" against you, like passing
off of someone's established trademark, you might...might...get into trouble. It's
one reason why I always answer the "will I get sued?" question with "it depends
on who you're (potentially) dealing with".

Edit: I see that Suzanne answered above. Either she's fast or I'm slow, heh.

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Legality of creating a sub-domain name that someone else already owns?

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