say if i was running an affiliate program for like downloads of limewire is it legal to have a domain like downloadfreelimewire.com ?
In fact that's a very good question. Does trademark apply to domain names... I just bought the ******blog.com domain name for an electrical product with a definitive tradename and am planning to run the blog as an info, review and update sevice fro the product. Question is if I constantly refer to the product by its name throughout the site as well as using the name in my domain am I breaking copyright? A couple of years ago, when the Olympics Lottery was announced in the UK, I bought the domain olympicslottery.com and built a site around it. A few weeks later I got an email from the British Olympics Committee warning me to take down the site or risk prosecution. The word 'Olympics', the 5 ringed logo and other aspects of the site did indeed break copyright in that case. So sometimes it definitely does. I suspect that if you're trying to sell someones product for them then they'd be happy to let you use their name, but it's not always the case. Anyone got any other examples like mine? Steve
The existing corporation will probably have their lawyers send you a threatening letter saying your domain/website is damaging to their brand recognition, etc.
I think you are asking the wrong question. Yes, using a brand in a domain on purpose is a trademark infringement no matter what. (Unless there are other meanings of that brand (being generic) or other stuff that you can use as defense) So the question should be "will i get sued?". As stevecane said above, they may not care or your site may be for their own good and they may decide to leave it alone. But if the domain or site is damaging their brand, product or company or if the domain you have is a direct domain that they'd prefer to use themselves (as in stevecane's lottery example) they'll probably file a lawsuit. It depends on your domain and how you use it. Hope it's clear.
Also, I must add, that if you do get sued, trademark infringement is a federal offense and is automatically tried in your jurisdictions district federal court (if you're in the US). Something I'm sure you don't want to pay thousands of dollars for lawyers to represent you.
I imagine you will probably be fine. An example of this would be the recent craze over the Apple ipad and their choice to name the product ipad and register that domain. According to this blog: http://copyrightcommerceandculture....ontroversy-over-the-name-of-apple’s-new-ipad/ (and I had heard this elsewhere before) the ipad name was already trademarked yet Apple went ahead and named their product this anyways. In the past you are more likely to hear about a site coming to an agreement to sell a domain that is wanted or required by a major corporation and I don't think these cases go to trial very often. I am no lawyer, but it is my understanding that threats are much more common than suits in this case, probably just depends if you scare easily and if you want to deal with the headache. Up to you!
I would happily terminate the site if there was any problem - im just worried they'd take me straight to court and id lose all my earning and more...
Although it may well be different in the USA, if you do this and infringe on a company's trademark then they MUST first give you loads of warnings/letters and prove that they have been served before they can sue you. So don't do this and expect a $100,000 court fine in a week, as it doesn't happen like that - but I would say generally only do it in the short time. I have first hand experience of this and trademark disputes are hard and costly to defend, so general advice is not to do it in the first place. I am UK Based.
They almost always give you a cease and desist letter (email) before they take you to court. I got an email telling me to take down one of my sites because I was promoting a product with the product in the domain name. I took it down, no harm, no foul. If I want to do anything like this today, I email the company and ask. I almost always get a NO back, but sometimes companies don't care. Though, I love when I get a no back, but there are tons of other sites that have that company name in their domain.
recieved an email from limewire saying it is illegal and fraudulent also an infringement law broken! so no you can not! blah $6 wasted oh well!
One always runs the risks of having to terminate the project mid-way with such names. It is no use working with such a sword hanging above your head and you almost hear the call as soon as your effort begin to show itself up on the internet. You should at least be happy that you got the call early and not much of your effort was wasted! Regards, RightMan
what happens your brand is like 'it' and 'for' or something really simple and tons of doman has it in their name