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Business.com is registered. Can I use business in my domain name?

Discussion in 'Legal Issues' started by zxcvbnm3007, Sep 9, 2009.

  1. #1
    I am planning to open a competing website with Business.com with same features and benefits. Can I use the word business in my domain name? I see some businesses currently using business in their domain name. Since they are not competing directly with Business.com, Business.com is not busy suing them.

    But I am planning to open a PPC model same like them, so they will definitely notice me in future. I don't want all my hard work going waste. Advice me.

    Is the small business segment already crowded, should I look for something else?
     
    zxcvbnm3007, Sep 9, 2009 IP
  2. mjewel

    mjewel Prominent Member

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    #2
    "business.com" has a trademark, but it certainly doesn't give them exclusive rights to use "business" in a domain name.

    I think trying to copy their model is a mistake. Try and do something different (the market is saturated). If you really want to go ahead with this idea, then I would suggest trying to find a specific niche and not a shotgun approach to everyone.
     
    mjewel, Sep 9, 2009 IP
    oneawesomeguy likes this.
  3. scottwood1986

    scottwood1986 Active Member

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    #3
    lol good luck with trying to compete with business.com.....
     
    scottwood1986, Sep 10, 2009 IP
  4. Ibn Juferi

    Ibn Juferi Prominent Member

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    #4
    I have a domain called businesstouch.info, I haven't got sued yet :D
     
    Ibn Juferi, Sep 10, 2009 IP
  5. AaronJan

    AaronJan Peon

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    #5
    Because "business" is such a generic word, it would be virtually impossible for them to sue you.
    Its a bit like trademarking the word "the".
     
    AaronJan, Sep 10, 2009 IP
  6. Dave Zan

    Dave Zan Well-Known Member

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    #6
    Don't look now but:

     
    Dave Zan, Sep 10, 2009 IP
  7. googledaily.com

    googledaily.com Peon

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    #7
    Business word or any word in the world is not property of anyone..just dont use business.com...attach some other words with it..like businesstoday, business plus, businessplanet etc.. Best of luck
    Im using http://googledaily.com (listed at google and using adsense too)
    Also there is a site
    http://googleurdu.com
    http://googledaili.com
    http://googlefont.com
    Now what you need to get satisfied with your idea.. do smarter not harder :p
     
    googledaily.com, Sep 10, 2009 IP
  8. browntwn

    browntwn Illustrious Member

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    #8
    That is a mark for "business.com", not the word "business". That trademark does not give them exclusive rights to use the term business. I know that you know that.

    If he wants to use the word "business" in his domain there are many ways to do that legally. Although he should probably avoid any domain that ends with "business.com".
     
    browntwn, Sep 10, 2009 IP
  9. Dave Zan

    Dave Zan Well-Known Member

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    #9
    Indeed. But the OP considered a domain name bearing their trademark to offer
    a competing service.

    I agree the OP can avoid anything with business.com in the domain, although I
    imagine s/he won't go unchallenged by the mark holder. We'll see.
     
    Dave Zan, Sep 11, 2009 IP
  10. mjewel

    mjewel Prominent Member

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    #10
    I agree with Dave Zan on this. If you register just "business.xxx" and copy their service, they would likely take you to court. Could they win? Doesn't matter, they would bury you in legal fees and it would never get through trial (unless you have hundreds of thousands to spare). It often doesn't matter if you are in the right when it comes to trademarks, it depends on who has the most money. If you use a domain like "something-business.xxx" I think you are a lot less likely to have problems.
     
    mjewel, Sep 11, 2009 IP
  11. browntwn

    browntwn Illustrious Member

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    #11
    I agree. I didn't think we were talking about business.xxx - I would not go near any variation of that.

    I think you could use a .com and the word business. I just would not have them next to each other. ex. businessSolutions.com, even if competing in the same with business.com would not have a problem - in my opinion.
     
    browntwn, Sep 11, 2009 IP
  12. FifthDimension

    FifthDimension Member

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    #12
    The word 'business' cant be trademarked for it is a word of common usage. SO I think you can use business as part of your dom name even if your biz model is going to be an exact copy of theirs. But your site needs to look substantially different from their site. I recall many sites like smallbusiness.com, smallbusinesceo.com etc. I dont think they can be sued on the basis of using business as part of dom name.
     
    FifthDimension, Sep 12, 2009 IP
  13. kunnusingh

    kunnusingh Well-Known Member

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    #13

    it means i am able to register google.(available TLDs)

    because of Business is a Dictionary word so also i have rights to register Business(Available TLDs)
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 12, 2009
    kunnusingh, Sep 12, 2009 IP
  14. mitok

    mitok Guest

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    #14
    I own business .gy and BusinessPhases .com and i am not scared that i will be sued. Word business is just a regular word.
     
    mitok, Sep 12, 2009 IP
  15. oneawesomeguy

    oneawesomeguy Peon

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    #15
    I think what mjewel said is perfect. No need for further discussion :)
     
    oneawesomeguy, Sep 12, 2009 IP
    mjewel likes this.
  16. browntwn

    browntwn Illustrious Member

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    #16
    Of course not. The words "business" and google" are completely different. What you can do with one does not mean you can do it with the other. One is a made up word - it is entitled to much greater protection. The word business is and can be used by many different companies as part of their business name or domain name.

    The is an additional consideration for the OP in that he wants to compete in the same business type as business.com. Nevertheless, there are still many domains he can purchase with the word business in them that would not be infringing. And as mjewel has repeatedly pointed out you could get sued anyway. So the question really becomes how far does one want to approach the line between and infringing and non-infringing name. The closer you get the higher your risk. (back to your example, using Google in any domain has 99% risk in my opinion. I would not spend 10 cents on a domain with the word Google in it. There are only a couple ways you could legally use Google in a domain name - and those are of little interest to people looking to make money.)
     
    browntwn, Sep 12, 2009 IP
  17. Pixelrage

    Pixelrage Peon

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    #17
    It would be up to a court of law to determine. If they sued you under the grounds of you were using their (VERY popular and well established) business name within the same business category as them -- web directories -- they would have a pretty strong case against you, not to mention, more money to spend on lawyers than you do.

    In short, it's not worth the risk.
     
    Pixelrage, Sep 15, 2009 IP
  18. JustBusiness

    JustBusiness Peon

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    #18
    You can use any generic
     
    JustBusiness, Sep 21, 2009 IP