if a .com version of a domain is taken and i buy a .net both the same type of forums am i doing something wrong? such as footballforums.com and footballforums.net and how do i search trade marks? is there a website i can search for intellectual property domains?
it all comes down to trademark rights. If the web site operator with the .com was first and has established its domain name as a brand, then they have prior trademark rights. You won't be able to use the site in any way which might cause consumer confusion between the two web sites. If they have regisstered their trademark, you have even bigger problems (although they don't have to register their mark to have trade mark rights). Here are some resources for you to check out... Trademark Rights, Common Law & Registered Marks Cybersquatting trademark protected domain names. Good luck.... and be careful. __________________ Enrico Schaefer, Traverse Legal, PLC Internet Attorney
I think it is a bit of an overstatement to say that if someone has registered a .com then no one could register a .net if the first owner has established a domain name. I know of no cases or precedent, at least in the US, that would stand for that proposition. If that were the case then the first person to register a .com would be able to prevent every other domain extension, which does not happen. If you were to try and use the domain name to create consumer confusion then that could get you in trouble, but you can get into that trouble even if you use a different domain name. For information on the likelihood of confusion in the US see: http://www.ipwatchdog.com/trademark/trademark-infringement-the-likelihood-of-confusion/ -Gene
IPwatchdog, he stated the sites would be the same types of forums with the same name. I think in his case its a bad idea lol.
Very Bad Idea. Get an original domain name and go for the same niche. You would naturally lose traffic to the .com as well. So it is a lose situation.
If a company is serious about trademark issues, locking down other TLDs is the first thing on their to-do list. You can go with any other name and focus on the same/similar content based forum.. that's more professional.
Just the curiosity, would it be ok to state clearly in the homepage that we are not the '.com' guy. (?-?)
In most situations, this probably would not help. The test for cybersquatting is basically composed of two-prongs: 1) whether the domain name is confusingly similar to a company's trademark, and 2) whether you registered and/or used the domain name in bad faith. Attempting to distinguish your website from another's by including a disclaimer may help lessen the appearance of bad faith. However, when the domain name is nearly identical to another's trademark, bad faith will essentially be presumed.
Don't do it dude. It will end up a best case scenario of you having to give them your domain, and worst case a shit load of your money. Especially now with these thread, which can be found in search engines, full of people telling you to not do it.