Hello; I am in the process of choosing a domain name for a site I am creating. The site will contain my own original legal content. The industry that I am writing for features a number of competitors that have web sites with plain dictionary word titles. (example; seafood.com seafoodgourmet.com) The vast majority of these websites are personal or small business that do not have trademarks on the names. Some domain names I am considering are similar to the names of competitors. I want to ensure that there is no name dispute down the road (as was the case with domains such as the classroom domain that was discussed here). As long as I verify that there is no trademark on similar names, am I safe registering a domain that is similar to my competitors? (example domain, based upon site mentioned about; seafoodcenter.com) Thanks very much for your time, j
There is no need to register a trademark to have trademark rights. Dictionary words are trademarked all the time. Whether or not the term you want to register is infringement depends on the exact name, not an example, and the usage. Often it comes down to whether or not a prior site "thinks" it is infringement. Defending a trademark suit is very expensive - six figures is not uncommon.
I suppose it doesn't hurt anything to mention real sites here. One domain I found available, that would work well for my site is naturalpet.us. The .com is registered, naturalpet.com, I took at look at it, and it happens to be a site that is pretty similar to what I am creating. Could this cause a conflict? I am suspecting that answer could be Yes, now that you told me that a trademark does not have to be registered to have rights. I'd also consider NaturalPetTalk.com, or NaturalPetCare.us. I don't want to create a conflict with the owners of naturalpet.com over their trademark, and will avoid the words naturalpet entirely if necessary. Do you feel I am best served by getting away from using naturalpet in my name due to the existing naturalpet.com site that is in the same line of business? Thank You Kindly for your assistance, J
I would stay away from those particular domains. Adding words doesn't get around trademark infringement. If the domain was pets.com vs pets.info, that's a different story because the usage could be descriptive and generic in nature. Infringement often isn't black and white - which can open you up to legal problems when someone using the term before you thinks you are attempting to ride their goodwill. 1-800 pet meds was even able to get a trademark on "PetMeds" by arguing it has acquired a secondary meaning. While I think there is a case to cancel that mark, it would be very expensive and they would fight you in court (they did lose a WIPO, but the door is still open to a lawsuit).
Thank you again for your time. I've been brainstorming for the past several days and am still without decision on a new domain. I just wanted to make sure to thank you again for your time. j