Is it OK to have Microsoft in a two-word domain?

Microsoft and one other word, or will this infringe trademark?

 

IANAL & IMHO it would violate their trademark.
Better not to do it.

 

Do you really want a multi billion dollar company with unlimited resources and man power to get after you for trade mark infringement? I wouldn't even sniff at such domain name. It can never last.

 

You are playing with fire, if you have millions on hand for legal fees then go ahead...

 

yes, choose another name

 

yes, definitely not a good idea. They are pretty stringent about that

 

You know what id go for it... reap the rewards... and if Microsoft want it.. sell it to them! All i can see coming out of it for you is profit profit and more profit.

They wont sue you right away.. they will make contact with you and ask you whatever they want to ask you... at which point you offer to give it to them for the same price or even more.. afterall you registered the domain name and you paid for it!

 

You really don't know much about cybersquatting, do you? If you don't know, then don't be giving advice that's entirely false. If you attempt to sell a domain that infringes on someone's trademark, it proves bad faith and will get you busted for sure. Not only will you lose the domain automatically, you will also have to pay crap loads in fines.

 

If you have to ask, then you know it's probably not a good idea. I wouldn't do it if I were you.

 

Well if he really wants it, he can hire a lawyer and create an agreement of some type which allows him to use the domain name with some restriction of course.

 

How about MS - short for Microsoft? That should be fine, shouldn't it because they don't have that trademarked, do they?

Also, is it possible to have MSFT because thats their stock ticker code?

At the moment I am trying to come to a maketable name.

 

While MS doesn't appear to be a registered trademark, trademarks don't need
registration to exist. And if Microsoft's suits don't convince one how serious
they are in protecting their intellectual property, I don't know what will.

 

well, i have this domain, 6mac.com. does it count as those domains?

 

Even if there is no court case, it is still better to build up your own brand, rather than spend time building the site and creating buzz for Microsoft or any other big companies.

 

I understand where you are coming from, but this site is very Microsoft related, infact, everything will be Microsoft related and therefore I want a domain that peple can identify with the company.

 

A friend of mine had a forum board that contained word "Nintendo". It was entirely focused on discussion about Nintendo games, promoted Nintendo and strengthened brands fanbase. When the site grew in popularity, he got himself a letter from Nintendo law department and was glad the lawsuit was not filed and all he lost was the domain. But seriously, if I was going to invest time (and money) into building something, I may as well play it safe and use some generic words, not obviously trademarked names that have no other universal meaning.

 

And there lies a rub. While Microsoft understands that reason, unfortunately a
few people out there are willing to "tarnish" their hard-earned work just for a
few kicks.

If you still want to do that, though, you're going to have to somehow secure
their permission or work an agreement with them. They may or may not allow
it, and they'll decide on their own if it's worth it or not, but at least that can
give you some justification to try.

One catch is they might not allow you to put ads in it.

 

As I say, I don't want the Microsoft name in the domain, but something that people can identify Microsoft with e.g. MS. Microsoft can't do anything about someone using MS because it just an abbreviation that a few people may refer to them. Anyway, I will send an email asking them whether using MS in a two word domain will infringe their trademark. You also got to remember MS can a be generic to describe some other things such as Multiple Sclerosis.

 

LOL.....that's just too funny

 

And since you said you wanted a domain name that people can identify with
the company:

http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2005/d2005-0584.html

The result might or might not have changed if the registrant replied. However,
they even sued a Netherlands-based woman for something similar:

http://arstechnica.com/journals/mic...les-lawsuit-against-mother-creator-of-msnlock

Still think they can't do anything about it?