Is it ok to have a trademark name in the Title?

gohardorgohome

13 years ago

Anyone have any experience with this?

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JCorp

13 years ago

NBA would have never occurred to me as being the basis of your domain. Plus I hardly doubt that NBA has "sketballshoes" as a product...but it's always good to be safe than sorry. Check out godaddy.com and see if there are any other registered domains with the letters NBA and if there is then you should be fine.

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gohardorgohome 13 years ago

Haha, that was a bad example. NBA has nothing to do with my site. Didn't even see that.

Let me give a better example.

If I want to create a site for Best Buy Deals, obviously it is against copyright law to have the name www[dot]bestbuydeals[dot]com.

But can I create www[dot]bbdeals[dot]com and make the Title Tag as "Best Buy Deals" or is that also copyright/trademark infringement?
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- Gail_Curran 13 years ago
  
  There was a company I was an affiliate for that contacted me to take the name of their product out of the web page title, subdomain name, and metatags. So it depends on the company as to whether it's OK.
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Eleanor

13 years ago

This really depends on the company.

Having the trademark in the domain is a big no, no because it's a complete waste of time - if they do email you to take it down, you've just wasted hours of your time.

As for trademarks in the title, you should be ok... afterall, a company that size (Nike) are likely to have articles written about them all over the web and will have no problem with this (in my opinion).

As for using an abbreviation, you should be careful - some companies actually have rules against using abbreviations of their trademarks too so it's worth checking it out before you buy a domain.

Hope that helps.

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Eleanor

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outwest

13 years ago

No its not a good idea are you nuts
Depending on the company, some are viciously litigious and will sue you in a heartbeat, of course their first course of action is to send a nasty email from their "attorney"
demanding the domain back.

Now some companies do not do this but for example Playboy will sue you for sneezing, they dont even want you to use Playmate in the domain, or your kws , they are nuts

I would sure do a little bit of research before I run out and do this depends on the company you are dealing with . Go research "companyname sues webmaster for domain name" that will pull up any lawsuits I would think

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George Curtis

13 years ago

Attorneys can send you cease and desist letters for anything that they think is an infringement upon their client's trademark. That does not mean they will.

Bubbins1987 is right about the abbreviations. I would stay away (in most cases) from that for the bigger companies. It really depends on how vigorously they are enforcing it. In some cases it is okay because the company evidently does not care. (WP____(plugin names).com anyone?)

But we have used the trademark name in h1s, h2s, and the title tags with no problem. I was asked once to give up a name I had reserved (and I did).

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transcriptionservices

13 years ago

hey,
Yes it is ok to have trademark name in the title, it does not create negative impression in SEO.

Thanks

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josef91

13 years ago

I also think it is ok to have trademark name in the title.

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outwest

13 years ago

Using a trademarked name in the Title or H1 h2 tags , kws, metatags, description etc
to me is WAY different and way less risky than buying a domain with their name in it

companies tend to feel very protective of people buying domains with their name in it
I would say if its not in the domain, Its very low risk of them doing anything. You dont own anything with their brand on it, after all now do you?
where with a domain you do.

Now for example courts have held that it is legal and perfectly above board to buy a domain called WalmartSucks.com
believe me these companies have spent millions trying to get those site names taken down, but the judges said no, thats freedom of speech. and they are not trying to act like they are Walmart (using the name for profit)

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sivamayuri

13 years ago

There will be no issue that you are using a trademark/copyright name in your title. It won't affect your SEO anyway.

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paulgl

13 years ago

Man this thread is too funny. You can't take a website down with
an email, letter, or phone call. Where did that come from? There
has to be a judgment or something similar. Yes, some
cave, quaking in their boots, but why? A host can shut you
down, but shouldn't if you are on the right host. Also, they
cannot take your property away, like a domain, without the
same legal process. Such nonsense abounds here.

There is nothing illegal about using a trademark. That's right,
trademark. You people are mixing up trademarks, company
names, and copyright law.

Tons of sites use trademarks just fine. It's how you do it.
Has nothing to do with any blanket statement like,
"trademarks in a domain are a no no." Sounds like a 5
year old kid nagging mommy, and far from the truth.

If you get one, and have a legit way to use, more power
to you.

Remember, the United States laws sometimes have
little enforcement in places like, oh, say China, India,
Pakistan, Russia, Singapore,...

You have to prove 3 points, which are overlooked by most people:

1. that the trademark owner owns a trademark (either registered or unregistered) that is the same or confusingly similar to the registered second level domain name;

2. that the party that registered the domain name has no legitimate right or interest in the domain name; and

3. that the domain name was registered and used in bad faith.

Note, you must prove all 3.

This is different than cybersquatting.

And differently than celebrities. Sarah Palin just lost a case
regarding her name, and whether she "owns" it for commercial
purposes or not. She tried to trademark it and they said, no.

Paul

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outwest

13 years ago

Originally Posted by paulgl

Man this thread is too funny. You can't take a website down with
an email, letter, or phone call. Where did that come from? There
has to be a judgment or something similar. Yes, some
cave, quaking in their boots, but why? A host can shut you
down, but shouldn't if you are on the right host. Also, they
cannot take your property away, like a domain, without the
same legal process. Such nonsense abounds here.

There is nothing illegal about using a trademark. That's right,
trademark. You people are mixing up trademarks, company
names, and copyright law.

Tons of sites use trademarks just fine. It's how you do it.
Has nothing to do with any blanket statement like,
"trademarks in a domain are a no no." Sounds like a 5
year old kid nagging mommy, and far from the truth.

If you get one, and have a legit way to use, more power
to you.

Remember, the United States laws sometimes have
little enforcement in places like, oh, say China, India,
Pakistan, Russia, Singapore,...

You have to prove 3 points, which are overlooked by most people:

1. that the trademark owner owns a trademark (either registered or unregistered) that is the same or confusingly similar to the registered second level domain name;

2. that the party that registered the domain name has no legitimate right or interest in the domain name; and

3. that the domain name was registered and used in bad faith.

Note, you must prove all 3.

This is different than cybersquatting.

And differently than celebrities. Sarah Palin just lost a case
regarding her name, and whether she "owns" it for commercial
purposes or not. She tried to trademark it and they said, no.

Paul

I agree that the chances most companies will actually spend real money and file a case is negligible, the "attorney" threat is free

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Is it ok to have a trademark name in the Title?

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