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Trademarks and Amazon

Discussion in 'Amazon' started by bluearrow, Dec 23, 2010.

  1. #1
    Doesn't Amazon ban sites for using trademark domains like,

    * Canon-Cameras.com
    * BuyNikonCameras.info
    * Buy-Nike-Shoes.info

    I have noticed soo many use domains with various trademarks in those. I don't see anything about this in Amazon TOS except they don't want us to use their TM in PPC campaigns.
     
    bluearrow, Dec 23, 2010 IP
  2. mjewel

    mjewel Prominent Member

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    #2
    Amazon cannot determine who has the right to use trademarks they do not own. Using a trademark without permission is infringement and can result in the domain owner/site operator being sued. If the trademark holder notifies Amazon of infringement, it could result in your account being terminated - however, that would be the least of my worries when compared to what the trademark holder could do to you.
     
    mjewel, Dec 23, 2010 IP
  3. Santacruz

    Santacruz Active Member

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    #3
    I know with Trademark in domain name will help a lot in the SEO (Goolgle give good score for it as relevant).

    There are alway 2 sides when use the trade mark name, one can promote the brand and another could demote the brand.
    As for short sell and you are willing to promote the brand I see no problem in my view. But in long term you will never get a benefit to those of years hard work.
    I could be wrong, but my instinct tell me they will like me if all my work will help them to promote the brand :) and make them money (ie. Canon product, who will get the profit from selling Canon product? ... eventually is Canon).

    Stay away from trademark name if you going to use it in illegal way. Like copy IP or selling fake products.

    Santacruz
     
    Santacruz, Dec 24, 2010 IP
  4. mjewel

    mjewel Prominent Member

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    #4
    Wrong. Selling their product does not give you the right to use their trademark, nor do they generally allow it. There are some TM holders who give authorized dealers permission to use their mark in a domain name, although it is rare. Tens of thousands of domains "promoting a product or service" in a "positive way" have been taken, and thousands have been sued. Fighting a TM lawsuit through the courts can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and if you lose, you can not only be ordered to turn over all profits ever made, but damages, and treble the TM holders legal fees if the mark is registered. Do not do it unless you have express permission. Trademark holders are required to protect their mark against unauthorized use. That doesn't mean they have to go after every single instance, but if you are one of the unlucky ones, you will regret it.
     
    mjewel, Dec 24, 2010 IP
  5. Santacruz

    Santacruz Active Member

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    #5
    Thanks for remind this again. Then please stay away from the TM.
     
    Santacruz, Dec 24, 2010 IP
  6. pixads

    pixads Well-Known Member

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    #6
    amazon will ban you if you use their trademark
    for other's trademarks they leave it up to the TM owners
     
    pixads, Dec 24, 2010 IP
  7. Santacruz

    Santacruz Active Member

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    #7
    Hi Bluearrow,

    Another tips that I used to get more conversion is to use action word in the domain name ie. GetCamera, FastWeightloss, BetterPhotoTips ... something like that.

    Santacruz
     
    Santacruz, Dec 24, 2010 IP
  8. TechEvangelist

    TechEvangelist Guest

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    #8
    mjewel is correct. Unless permission is explicitly given by a trademark holder, you do not have the right to use their trademark.

    I was once contacted by Sony's attorneys who demanded that I cease using their trademark and images on a web site. However, they did back off when I pointed out that it was an Amazon affiliate site and as an affiliate Amazon grants me the right to use the images and products from their site. This was not a situation where the Sony trademark was part of the domain name, but it was part of the URL.

    I don't think that Amazon cares if you use someone else's trademark, but technically they do not have the right to grant you permission to use it.
     
    Last edited: Dec 26, 2010
    TechEvangelist, Dec 26, 2010 IP
  9. bluearrow

    bluearrow Well-Known Member

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    #9
    I'm sure Amazon wouldn't bother about TM issues unless its about one of their but what if trade mark holder complains Amazon ? what would be Amazons reaction ? warn the Associate or ban him ?
     
    bluearrow, Dec 26, 2010 IP
  10. pixads

    pixads Well-Known Member

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    #10
    first warn and if there is no reaction will ban
     
    pixads, Dec 28, 2010 IP
  11. pachanights

    pachanights Peon

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    #11
    I was under the impression like many others that using trademarks in domain names was ok with Amazon but this is simply not true. I had already spent a lot of time creating the sites around them before my application was rejected which made it even more frustrating for me.

    I opened a seperate associates account specifically to cater for a series of related affiliate sites. I chose one of them as the main domain name to open the account under and then added the others as extra domains. 2 weeks later I recieved the email starting my application was rejected because they do not allow trademarked domain names into the associates program.

    The domain I opened the new account with was dcactionfigures.com

    Here is a perfect example of what NOT to do when applying to the associates program. You may get around this with Amazon if you add trademarked domains to an already approved and existing account (although if they find out you're doing this the account will be banned) but you can be sure of getting turned down immediately if you apply directly to them with a brand new account using a trademarked domain.

    I have since written to DC comics asking for their permission to use their trademark which if successful I intend to show to Amazon and ask them to reconsider. If that fails I have no choice but to shut down and abandon the sites altogether, meaning a lot of time and effort will have been spent for nothing. Tough lesson learnt the hard way!
     
    Last edited: Jan 11, 2011
    pachanights, Jan 11, 2011 IP
  12. phpnetpro

    phpnetpro Peon

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    #12
    Whether Amazon is OK with it or not, it's certainly not a good idea.

    Consider this:
    Let's say you build a successful Amazon affiliate site using a trademark in your domain name.
    You could work on the site every day for a year and be making $10,000 a month with the site.
    All it takes for everything to fall apart is for the trademark owner to contact you and then the website is their property. End of Story.

    If you want to target a brand/trademark name, do it with your site content and not your domain name. For example, let's say you want to target the keyword phrase "Dell desktop computers". If you could get the domain name "desktopcomputers.com", you can easily build a page to target that brand/trademark keyword phrase - 100% Legal, Everybody's Happy :).
     
    phpnetpro, Jan 13, 2011 IP
  13. DevNCode2009

    DevNCode2009 Member

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    #13
    yep ... being a complete Amazon noobie ... just 2 weeks ago now I applied to the Amazon affiliate program with my TM domain name (include "iPad" in the title). My account was deactivated immediately. Waste of time buying those domains for me to use with Amazon. Bought htem now though ... so might see how I go with some google ads on them. Learnt my lesson though ;)
     
    DevNCode2009, Jan 16, 2011 IP
  14. hhelen

    hhelen Member

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    #14
    Amazon can only police their own Trademark, it is left for other companies to protect how their name is used. In some cases, some companies don't mind, as long as you clearly display copyright and trademark notices on your site stating the owners of the copyright and trademark.
     
    hhelen, Jan 17, 2011 IP
  15. seafrontsteve

    seafrontsteve Peon

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    #15
    I think the rules are that you cannot use a trademark or tradename as part of your domain or subdomain name
    But you can use it added anywhere else in the url
    so amazon.yourdomain.com is not allowed
    but yourdomain.com/amazon ... is fine
     
    seafrontsteve, Jan 17, 2011 IP
  16. anakrantau

    anakrantau Member

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    #16
    you can try approach the trademark ownership or their attorney that you are promoting their products through amazon and put the disclaimer on your site mentioning the brand ownership in trademark of the particular company ect.
    I did do this kind of approach and most of the time they understand and allow you to use some part of their name on your domain with certain condition. :)
     
    anakrantau, Jan 20, 2011 IP