i am not a newbie into domain market..but i dont have much knowledge of what trademarking in Domain context means.. i just read a thread here in this section...where a domain tripod.info..which when do a whois..along with other detials it also shows that its trademarked.. what does this mean?can i also get my own domain trademarked..?does this mean i need to payu for it also like a license sort of thing? what happens when a trademarked domain is available for registration again, does it still hold the trademark? Help appreciated..thanks..
Trademarking is very expensive can cost $$$ it will mean you are backed legally to sue anyone who uses that domain name or part of your domain in theres. Take vbulletin for example it's trademarked if you used a domain like vbulletinrocks then you will be liable to be sued. It's like copyrighting it in a way you will need to seek legal advise before you do this and it will cost you alot.
Aren't there stipulations about useage though? Let's say theoretically somebody owned Apple.com other than Apple Computers and they made a site about apples (the fruit). Apple couldn't really demand that site be transferred to them nor sue for trademark infringement could they?
Bedago, that would only apply if the trademark was registered after the site was already up and running. In reply to the last question from Syedwasi87. The domain holds the trademark indefinately unless the trademark is removed. Also any domain you make up ie microsoftfiberweb.com can also be claimed to infringe microsofts trademark and you can be sued or have the domain taken away from you.
valid point bedago...what if this is the case? the point is..can they get my domain cancelled just coz it coincides with their company name or abbreviation? even though i registered that domain years before their company even existed?
It depends what you initially reg'd the domain for. If you have had it for a number of years and it has just been parked then it may be taken away from you. If you were indeed using it as a bonafide web site long before the other company exsisted then they would not really have a case against you. In this case they may offer you a hefty sum to get it as they would have to pay thousands in court costs to try and get it from you with only a slim chance of success.
In Bedago's example, the timeframe does not matter. The reason for this is the term itself. Apple has a meaning of it's own (the fruit). If an individual had registered Apple.com and created a site about the fruit, that would not violate trademark law. Now if that same person registered AppleComputers.com and made a site about fruit, that would violate trademark statutes. The reason being that having computer in the term would give the term apple a more specific meaning. This can be seen by doing a trademark search for apple. There are 2404 trademarks (not all still active) that contain apple (including Apple to describe construction tools). Made up words or combined phrases hold a higher level of protection. Google and vBulletin are not words one would find in the dictionary. They do not exist outside of their reference to the product.
That depends on if the trademark is still active, and has nothing to do with the trademark domain availability.