No. You can trademark a product. You can servicemark a service. You can issue a domain name dispute if you have either a trademark or a servicemark. But I am pretty sure you can not patent a name. Though, you MAY be able to patent a web site if it invents a new form of navigation or some such..
I've been learning recently that no-matter what you think you own, if you do not own the trademark, you'd better get trademarking before you loose it to someone else.. Trademark seems to be the "be all,end all" of everything.
Actually, that's not true. A trademark doesn't give you any more rights to the name than a non-trademarked name. I own several uncontestable Federally Registered trademarks, but the person who "owns" the rights to the name is the first person to use it. A trademark is obtained for a classification(s) - and I think there are 42 different ones in the US (each is a different filing). Let's say you wanted to trademark "blue widget" for a brand of computers. You first must do a search to see if anyone is using this name. This is harder than it sounds because some guy in Bummuck can be building computers out of his house using this name. A search can run from a few hundred dollars and up. If your search doesn't find anyone using this name, you can apply for a trademark. You must already be using the trademark/servicemark in business before you can apply. The fee is around $600 plus attorney fees (if you use an attorney) . You had better make sure you fill out the forms correctly, because if you don't, you have to pay to apply again and the trademark office can be real strict and often reject applications that don't follow the correct procedure or submit the proper specimens. If you file, it then goes an examiner at the Trademark office who checks registered trademarks to see if they see any conflict. Even a similar sounding, spelling or Spanish translation (i.e. Azul Widgets) can get you rejected. If the examiner doesn't see a conflict, it goes out for publishing, which is an official published paper that goes out (and all trademark attorneys read). This takes about 6 months. Then there is a one year waiting period from when it is published where anyone can come forward and object to your filing. If it is accepted, there is then a five year period of "contestability" i.e. the guy in Bummuck can come forward and prove he was using the name before you and get your application rejected (and you're out the money). If this doesn't happen, approximately 6 1/2 years after you originally applied, your trademark becomes "uncontestable" -- i.e it doesn't matter if the guy from Bummuck comes forward and proves he was using the name before you (although you still cannot stop him from using the name - does have restrictions on expanding the usage). You then have to make another filing saying you are still using the name and pay another $600 which extends your trademark another 5 years. If a trademark doesn't give you any more rights to the name, then why file? Because it makes it easy for someone to find and know you are using the name. It is establishes "proof" you were using the name, and when you started using it. It also give you automatic rights to treble attorney fees provided you used the trademark with the "R" (registered) displayed. It also helps in domain disputes. Your trademark is only good for the classification you applied for. A trademark for "Blue Widget" computers won't stop anyone from selling "Blue Widget" clothing, Jewelry, Perfume, etc. Big companies like IBM register all classifications (they even have a jewelry line) so they have the broadest protection. A registration like this can cost well over $100,000 (I had a company that spent over $250,000). There are also names that cannot be trademarked - i.e. you can't go out and register "apple pie" and then claim no one else can use the name for baked goods. It is virtually impossible to get a trademark/tradename/servicemark on common names or phrases. You almost have to invent a word or uncommon combination or classification usage to qualify (i.e. Blueberry Pie Electronics). You also can't go out and trademark "Britney Spears Forum.com" It doesn't matter if you registered the domain first, you would lose it if they decided to bring action against you. It doesn't even matter if your real name is "Britney Spears." There was a recent case against an individual named Mike Rowe who registered the name MikeRoweSoft.com. Even similar sounding names can get you in trouble, especially if it has anything to do with a celebrity. Any name that could be confused with an established tradename or person will not hold up in court - although some will never bring action against you. You can't ride the coat tails of someone else with an established name or their goodwill. You will be forced to pay legal fees, damages, and forfeit any profit you had made. Once you have a trademark, you are also responsible for taking action against people who are infringing upon it or it can become a genericised trademark, like Kleenex. It costs me $300 everytime I have my law firm send out a letter to someone infringing upon one of my trademarks. The deep pockets never infringe, it is always some scumbag mom & pop who register a similar domain name, or open up a little store, and who aren't worth trying to recover legal fees from. You can file for a trademark of a domain name under commercial goods and services - .com - assuming it doesn't conflict with another classification. Because of the cost involved, filing for a Federal Registration is usually only worthwhile if you have a medium or larger size business that warrants the expense - and you have a really unique name or usage. If you were the first to use the name, your rights are already established without the trademark or tradename filing. There are also different degrees of protection - a trademark can be a logo with a certain name. Only similar looking logos would have protection. If you had a name like "Huckleberry Software", you would have much broader protection if you could get a trademark on "Huckleberry" rather than "Huckleberry Software". The former would give you protection against someone using "Huckleberry Scripts" while the latter might not. The first thing someone interested in a trademark/tradename/servicemark should do, is google the name to see if it is already in use. If it isn't, then go to a firm that performs trademark searches, then see an attorney that specializes in trademark law. The trademark office only searches their records, so you could also try to get a trademark filing accepted and hope the original user doesn't object in the next 6 1/2 years - but that's a big risk - especially if you intend on spending a lot of money branding the name during that time. I'll also add that I own a 15 year old registered trademark on a really good 4 letter word and don't own the .com and can't do anything about it because it is being used for an entirely different type of service. My trademark does offer protection in that the domain can never be used to offer that type of service or goods.
...and as long as you pay tax on what you own or earn you're never the owner of that. If you would be the owner, why would you have to pay tax? That's part of my philosophy
People try to patent everything... Have you seen this (us patent office link... it's just really long)? From the patent filing: "BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS There are no drawings provided." Thank God for small favors.
So what you're saying guys is that domain names just cannot be patented?is that it?because if that's the case then would it be okay if I use the same domain name as other sites? Social Security Attorney
Domain Names cannot be patented, nor trademarked or servicemarked. A domain name is an address and cannot be patented or otherwise registered any more than a house address could. However, Trademark owners have every right to protect their intellectual property and prevent people from 'passing off' or otherwise deceptively using their Trademark names. You cannot use the same domain name as other sites.
You are absolutely right. Think about what would happen if 2600 sued Lucent because of their giant 2600 building in Illinois. That would be a hysterical turn of events, but it just could never happen.