Can I have problems if I buy a .org domain if the .com with the same name is already bought?

17 replies
Hello guys,

I am new here so I'm sorry if I didn't post where I should.

My question is this. If I wanna buy a domain like lawnmowers.org and build a site, can someone with the lawnmowers.com sue me or something like that?

Thanks.
#bought #buy #domain #org #problems
  • Profile picture of the author stewie-Y
    As far as I know they must have trademarked a term in the domain for them to be able to take legal action against you.

    I'm not a lawyer, so don't take my advice without getting some other opinions.
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    • Profile picture of the author fosu
      Originally Posted by stewie-Y View Post

      As far as I know they must have trademarked a term in the domain for them to be able to take legal action against you.

      I'm not a lawyer, so don't take my advice without getting some other opinions.
      I share the same opinion with stewie.

      Many time I came cross .com not available, and turn to buy .org and .net, never had any issue with it.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by stewie-Y View Post

      As far as I know they must have trademarked a term in the domain for them to be able to take legal action against you.
      This isn't quite right, actually: a trademark can exist, in common law, without actually having been registered, and courts have been known to decree that they exist "constructively". What it goes to show is that you need to take legal advice only from those duly qualified and licensed to give it (no, I'm not one of them, either - did you guess?).

      However, that's pretty rare and in the normal course of events, nobody gets into trouble for registering the .org domain when someone else already owns the .com (unless it's trademarked, or they're blatantly cloning/copying, or whatever).

      Whether or not it makes any sense to build a business on a domain of which the .com variant already belongs to someone else is a whole different question. It certainly isn't something I'd ever do, myself. It seems to me that it's all downside, with no advantages at all. You're going to lose some traffic, at some point, to the owner of the .com, people will mis-remember yours, and your resale value will be very much lower than it needs to be. I do have some business sites which (for various other reasons) aren't on .com domain-names, myself, but in every case I also own the .com myself (and re-direct it to the extension I'm using for my site).
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      • Profile picture of the author RottenWord
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post


        Whether or not it makes any sense to build a business on a domain of which the .com variant already belongs to someone else is a whole different question. It certainly isn't something I'd ever do, myself.
        Yes, you are right about that. But there are some cases when the .com domain is only bought but there is nothing built there. In this case, I don't think there is a downside to registering the .org with the same name and build a website.
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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          Originally Posted by RottenWord View Post

          Yes, you are right about that. But there are some cases when the .com domain is only bought but there is nothing built there. In this case, I don't think there is a downside to registering the .org with the same name and build a website.
          No, I'm afraid this isn't really so. Not for me, anyway.

          If you don't own the .com domain-name, but it's been registered, then you can't control what might end up on it in future. It can be sold. It can be bought by a competitor. It can be used to host a porn-site. Anything can happen. Either you own it, or someone else does; if someone else does, you have no control over it at all (and still have all the other disadvantages mentioned above, like "not looking as good", people forgetting your domain, and not having nearly as much potential resale value).

          The fact that it's "parked" now doesn't mean it will still be parked in 3 weeks', or 3 months', or 3 years' time. And if you end up wanting to buy it (if it's for sale, then) having done well with your own domain, the price is probably only ever going to go up, not down.

          For me, it makes no difference whether the .com is being used now: what matters is simply whether somebody else has registered it. If they have, it makes no sense for me to register another extension. Your mileage may vary.
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  • Profile picture of the author eternalwarrior
    If the domain is trademarked, then you can't buy it.
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    • Profile picture of the author RottenWord
      Originally Posted by eternalwarrior View Post

      If the domain is trademarked, then you can't buy it.
      Yes, I know that. But how can I know if it is trademarked? And I guess you cannot trademark generic phrases like my example 'lawn mowers".
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      • Profile picture of the author eternalwarrior
        Originally Posted by RottenWord View Post

        Yes, I know that. But how can I know if it is trademarked? And I guess you cannot trademark generic phrases like my example 'lawn mowers".
        Check the about page/terms and conditions page.
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  • Profile picture of the author ekup
    Unless the company which own's the .com domain is a registered trademark, you can go ahead and register the domain.
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  • Profile picture of the author ecoverbee20
    Yes you can as others state you cant use trademarks. I bought a domain with a trademark a few years back and received an email to take the site down and that was all that happened.
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  • Profile picture of the author mrgoe
    You will have no problem building a website around a .org if the .com company doesn`t have the domain name as a registered trademark.
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  • Profile picture of the author WFDUDE
    Dude, your head will spin from the advice on here. Go to an Attorney site and pay someone 20 bucks and get solid actual advice.
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    • Profile picture of the author mrgoe
      Originally Posted by WFDUDE View Post

      Dude, your head will spin from the advice on here. Go to an Attorney site and pay someone 20 bucks and get solid actual advice.
      BUt... why ?! People already gave the answer. Just read what people have written above.
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  • Profile picture of the author newxxx
    Originally Posted by RottenWord View Post

    Hello guys,

    I am new here so I'm sorry if I didn't post where I should.

    My question is this. If I wanna buy a domain like lawnmowers.org and build a site, can someone with the lawnmowers.com sue me or something like that?

    Thanks.

    go to www.namecheap.com

    type in freemoney or makemoney or christian or hindu or win or sex or porn, and you'll see that every extension possible has been taken for those terms
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  • Profile picture of the author onedomains
    It depends on the use of the .com and your use or the .org

    We try to get .com's but a .org done right can be a very high authority site for whatever, since old DMOZ listings often show .org sites and not the .com

    So each case is unique, run a UPTO on the .com and see if they have a US TM claim, and then consider your use, is the competitive to the .com or just informational about an industry.

    WIPO is where you can read for years on case law on your question but US courts are now redefining such cases and doing it against established WIPO case law.

    So there's really no right answer for you, but if you have the .com, your position is better to claim the right to do 'business' as that phrase.
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  • Profile picture of the author hbhanot
    Only if they have rights on the domain keywords I think. Not 100% sure.
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  • Profile picture of the author copymyideas
    If it is copyrighted term you will face a problem. In my early days I purchased a domain with a dating site in it and was contacted by their lawyers and had to sell it on to them for what I paid for it! I've not made that mistake again!
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