3 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
3 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Trademark Policy and the Use of Domain Name

by bigcat1967
2 replies
  • SEO
    • |
I am building a website in which I am telling my story of losing 40 lbs by eating burgers (yes, this really happened).

I have a strong disclaimer written out (the site will show what I did to lose weight - the site will not be claiming if anyone else does what I did, the same results will happen (also telling them I am not a doctor or nutritionist)).

What I am concerned about is this. I am going to use my first and last name as my domain name. However, in the title tag and on the main header, I will be calling it, "Mark's Burger Diet".

I submitted a query to Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) to see if anyone has "Burger Diet" taken as a trademark - and from what I see - nobody has taken this as a trademark. Nor have they taken "Mark's Burger Diet".

Again, my domain name will only be my first and last name dot com. So I'm ok there, it's just the worry of putting the wrong thing in my title tag as well as header that could be violating someone's trademark that I don't know about.

Should I be getting a lawyer to make sure things are ok or am I being a little to paranoid about this? I'm thinking that "Burger Diet" is something that nobody can really use as a trademark.

I just want to be sure before I start anything here...
#domain #policy #trademark
  • Profile picture of the author Jack Gordon
    You are being too paranoid.

    However, I would encourage you to use the name of the program as your url too. The more consistently everything in your messaging matches, the less dissonance you will inspire in your market.

    Ready, set, go.
    Signature
    Fifteen Lessons I have learned over 15 years and six businesses (or, My 1000th-Post Manifesto)
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10316734].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author kindsvater
    I'd be less concerned about trademarks and more concerned about trying to sell a "burger diet".

    Unless you're eating veggie burgers, or weighed a half-a-ton from a "pizza diet" and moved down to a "burger diet", or only rarely ate burgers while eating a ton of healthy food with a significant amount of exercise, or the weight loss was from the resulting hospitalization, the legal issue you should be concerned about is fraud and understanding no disclaimer is going to protect you if there is anything untrue in your story.

    .
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10317551].message }}

Trending Topics