If would like to register a trademark for my domain name, in USA, but I'm a foreign citizen living in another country non US, is there a way to register the trademark on an official US site, with online operations?
It would be best to contact people specialized in this field in your own country in my opinion. I would contact these people with your story and what you want to accomplish. If it's to expensive contact the chamber of commerce of Italy and i am sure they could advise you which other options there are available regarding other trademark service providers.
You may try to search specialized companies who register trade marks in your country. Probably among them ones who will register trademark for you in USA. If you submit application yourself there might be some problems later when trade mark officer will ask you to change something in your application. Also as I know trade mark is registered for a product or service, not for domain name. There are 42 classes of products and services. If you want to register trade mark for all these classes you will pay 14.700 USD ($350 x 42). So, at first select a class for trade mark registration (probably your classes are 09, 35 or 42). These classes are for software and software services, but you should check first...
Anyone can register a trademark. Check out the USPTO Web site for details. You the cost is a few hundred dollars per industry you want the trademark for. Then, off course, you will need to defend your trademark should others violate it (major legal fees). -Ramprof
You get a trademark based on the classification - type of use of your domain. If you are selling jewelry, then you can file in the jewelry classification. It doesn't prevent someone from using the name to sell auto parts. You can only file for a mark that is already being used. You must make sure no one else has used the name, or variation of it, for the same type of use. This is the hard part because you need to check for any prior usage and a good search will run several hundred dollars - minimum - and this is still NOT 100%. Once you file, it goes to an examiner who decides if he will accept it, then publication (notice to all trademark attorneys) and after about a year, if no one contests the filing, it gets accepted and then a five-year period begins where anyone can come forward and say your trademark was in use before or it conflicts with theirs. If no one does that, after 6 years, your mark becomes uncontestable and you pay another $500. You don't need to have a registered trademark to own rights to a name. The first person to use a name for a particular usage, and continues to use it, owns the rights - provided the name is can be trademarked (you can't trademark "Apple Pie" as a baked good, etc.) A Federal Registration gives you some benefits, including: 1) Many people check for a Federal Trademark before using a name so it can reduce infrigement. 2) It establishes your usage date in stone. 3) You can seek treble damages for legal fees in cases of infringement. Unlike patent law, rights don't go to the first person to file, it's the first one to use the name. The vast majority of names have prior usage, so make sure you do research to look for prior usage. You do not have automatic rights to use a domain name just because you own it as it can be infringing upon existing usage rights. If you file an application yourself, make sure you know what you are doing because a mistake will get your application rejected and you'll need to pay again. You'll also need an attorney if there are any objections to your filing - and this can run thousands of dollars.