Trademark Infringement?

Discussion in 'Legal Issues' started by grhawkins, Jun 27, 2009.

  1. #1
    I have a domain with MLB in it. The domain itself is related to baseball (I don't want to mention the full domain)... If I make that domain into a site related to baseball information--such as articles, blog posts, and whatnot for different major league teams can I be sued for trademark infringement?

    If I mention on the homepage that I'm in no way affiliated with MLB will this solve any infringement problems?

    Thanks in advanced!
     
    grhawkins, Jun 27, 2009 IP
  2. nyxano

    nyxano Peon

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    #2
    It would not solve any infringement problems because MLB is a trademark of Major League Baseball which means they hold the right to all uses of MLB in anything baseball related. If your site does not earn any money what so ever (including advertising) then you could argue use of MLB under "fair use" but if your site makes any money from its visitors, MLB could step in and not only ask you to cease and desist your web site, but can also ask that you transfer control over your domain name to them - with no compensation. With "fair use" though, MLB could argue that you are not licensed or authorized by them to use MLB regardless whether the site makes money or not and therefore fair use does not apply.

    I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. It is something I learned through a client that had a trademarked name in their domain name and was forced to shut it down because the trademark owner did not authorize use of its name. But this is why trademarks exist in the first place - to protect unauthorized use of logos, slogans, brandings, etc.
     
    nyxano, Jun 27, 2009 IP
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  3. sandeep211499

    sandeep211499 Peon

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    #3
    Buddy, I don't think you should promote that domain name. You know why;

    Because I owned a Domain with Big G name in it. I promoted it for 2 years, made big bucks and page rank of 4, now they want it and they had taken it :(
     
    sandeep211499, Jun 27, 2009 IP
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  4. browntwn

    browntwn Illustrious Member

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    #4
    I will make it simple.

    Yes.

    No.
     
    browntwn, Jun 27, 2009 IP
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  5. OnInternetBusinessGuide

    OnInternetBusinessGuide Well-Known Member

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    #5
    I also think that it is a trademark infringement. You better place the MLB in a page name rather than the domain name. It is for sure a problem in your domain name, but not necessarily in a page name or title.
     
    OnInternetBusinessGuide, Jun 28, 2009 IP
  6. jimbozs2000

    jimbozs2000 Peon

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    #6
    mlb doesnt play around, nhl either and soccer leauges had my hosting shut down one of my soites, I was into that stuff heavy and some of it is tricky, better just get a domain with baseball in it rather than mlb
     
    jimbozs2000, Jun 29, 2009 IP
  7. Nova

    Nova Active Member

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    #7
    You can be sued for eating a donut and saying it sucks in public mate. But why would an intelligent company (any related to MLB) will sue you if you've very little money? Its a waste of time, in my opinion you'll be promoting them more with your site than affecting their business...

    So they might not give a hoot...just like people posting movie trailers in their site thanks to YouTube "embeded" code...they usually won't come after you, they might often come to Google management for DMCA or straight-line papers. It just makes sense, but of course, I'm just a night owl...so listen at your own peril.
     
    Nova, Jul 3, 2009 IP
  8. hostlonestar

    hostlonestar Peon

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    #8
    If you make any money MLB can sue you for all earning made, and they will win.
     
    hostlonestar, Jul 4, 2009 IP