domain name keywords and trademark question?

Discussion in 'Domain Names' started by olddocks, Apr 11, 2008.

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  1. #1
    i am looking to register a domain with 3 keywords that is possibly free of any trademark violations. i have quite a few doubts in registering such a domain name with keywords (red,blue,green)

    1. if somebody already registered RedBlueGreen.com, is it fair to register Red-Blue-Green.com with hyphens. how about the same for .net, .info etc..

    2. if a party holds a trademark for "Blue Green", is it fair to register RedBlueGreen.com, since their mark is present in the domain.

    what tips or advice you have to register a domain free of any troubles :( i am totally confused here :(
     
    olddocks, Apr 11, 2008 IP
  2. iamays

    iamays Banned

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    #2
    I don't think you'll have any problems with the red-blue-green.com because they are just colors. If you tried to leech off of their already branded name to get customers then that might be copyright infringement. But if you just have colors in your name you should be alright.

    I really don't think colors would be a problem, unless you tried to copy their idea and company
     
    iamays, Apr 11, 2008 IP
  3. BruceW4yne

    BruceW4yne Member

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    #3
    I'm not a lawyer, so I can't give legal advice, but I own over 2,000 domains and I've only had trouble from one company -- a company I was actually a top affiliate with, at that. Here's what my lawyer told me:

    1. Assuming the company does not have a registered trademark for "RedBlueGreen.com" of course you can register red-blue-green.com, or the other TLD's. Simply registering a .com or even building a website on a domain does not give you exlusive rights.

    2. If they DO have a trademark on "Blue Green," you may want to avoid registering RedBlueGreen.com. It kinda depends on the mark owner whether there will be a problem.

    Just as an example: Eli Lilly has trademarked the brand name Cialis. They don't go after everyone who registers domains with "cialis" in them, however, only the people selling generic cialis. On the other hand, Fox owns the mark for MySpace. Don't try registering any myspace domains, or you'll get a letter from their legal department straight away.

    If there is trouble, you could do what I did with the company I used to work with: Petition to cancel their mark. It's fairly easy to do if the trademark is less than 5 years old and if it's for a generic term or there's evidence of fraud in the application.

    Just my 2 cents.

    hxxp://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm
     
    BruceW4yne, Apr 12, 2008 IP
    olddocks likes this.