I need answers right away please. There is a domain I am interested in purchasing as popular as goodyear.com (THIS IS ONLY AN EXAMPLE) I want to purchase the .net version. I am just surprised why the company did not take the .net version! Somebody else has the .org version for the domain but is parked. Will I get in trouble with the company? Trademark issues?
ANSWER is YES Depends on what you want to do with the name and how big your site gets. PM me the name and we can chat.
For an example EXACTLY like the one used where the domain name is 2 common words and you do not plan to sell the same product or profit from the trademark, you might be okay. That example would not extend to something like PizzaHut. These are two common words but with a definate know usage. It is a VERY fine line and I am not positive where it is drawn. Usage of course is for the jury to decide. For $9 you can register it and then discuss it. For sure you won't get in any trouble until you try to use it.
Exactly. All it takes is a few bucks to get it registered so that public can take a look at it and discuss the name. You then can be sure about getting some more feedback on your purchase, and if trademark issues reach you, dropping the name will cause you a loss of those few bucks if it goes wrong. Is that americanexpress.net ?
I think it is worth taking the risk. If you yourself believe that it is going to be an issue then don't register it. But even if you have some confidence then reg it and you will know it yourself. All that can happen is you can hand that domain over to the trademark owner. And lose $7 to $8 for the registrations.
yes, you could get into trouble. both for infringement and anything under the sun that an attorney could suggest. There is something called a WIPO proceeding, where they can file to take the name from you even if you have it registered. The likelihood of something really bad happening isn't great, but if you get your site popular, you certainly could have the site taken from you through a WIPO proceeding.
If your intended usage for the domain name is similar, related, or associated in anyway with that of a trademark, you can expect trouble. But even if how you use the domain name isn't possibly infringing the party's trademark, some will insist they have rights to it and possibly run you down on legal costs or even use an administrative procedure (as the poster above me mentioned) to try to wrest control of the domain name. What I can suggest is you look up the trademark holder in question and try to find any hint as to how aggressive or reasonable they are regarding this. Some are quite friendly, others don't have to be. Like most if not all things in life, one won't know until they possibly get there. Know what you're potentially up against, and weigh your risks and rewards.
Why not try what I suggested? Or even seek legal advice from a licensed and experienced professional who delves into these things?