Hi Guys Basically I want to register a company for my website, and want to get an international trademark for that name. But wouldn't it be better if I register a company under a different name, then have each of my websites come under that one company? For example Joel Comm does this with InfoMedia, and has each of his websites come under that company. Also Tyler Cruz has Merendi Networks, and each of his websites come under that company. But what I'm not sure with is, once I register that company, do I need to register a business as well? Or do I need to register a business for each website that I have? Also to get an international trademark, does this require the company/business name registered already? For example if I want to trademark MySiteName, and my company name is LipNetworks, do I need to also register MySiteName as a company or business to obtain the trademark? I'm all very confused with how this works, if someone could give me some information it would be greatly appreciated! THANKS!!!
Also I noticed that Tyler Cruz's company website is www.merendi.com, but his company name is Merendi Networks Inc. Does this mean he needs to trademark Merendi as well as Merendi Networks Inc? Also how does it work if I want an abbreviated domain name for my company? For example if my company name is "My Super Company Name", and I wanted to register mscn.com for example, how would that work?
I don't see any registered trademark for InfoMedia for Joel Comm (someone else has a trademark on it) and no trademark for merendi at all. Anyone can put TM after their name. It's the "R" that means registered. You file for a registered trademark each mark, i.e. a trademark on "Merendi" would protect "Merendi Networks, Merendi Solutions, etc" in its classification. A single trademark isn't going to give you broad rights, meaning others can likely use the mark as long as it isn't in a way that overlaps your usage. You also need to make sure you are the first person to use the mark in its classification - and this usually means having a very unique name. You can go out and trademark a mark being used by someone else and then stop them from using it. First to use establishes rights (at least in the US). If you're looking for broad protection via a registered International mark, find a intellectual property rights attorney. There are searches that need to be done, and you need to make sure the paper work is submitted properly. It is going to be very expensive to register a mark in all classes and internationally - tens of thousands of dollars, maybe more. Defending your mark can be very costly so you have to make sure you know what you are getting into. It takes about six years for a trademark to pass the point of where it can be contested and canceled. Many times your mark is infringed upon by some small guy with no money so you wind up spending a lot in legal fees with no hope of collecting anything. If a deep pocket winds up infringing upon your mark, they will try to bury you in legal fees. I am involved in such a case and if the other side doesn't back down, the legal fees can easily go into mid six figures. You might want to consider just filing in a single class (cost $325 in the US) after a tm search ($200). You can do the filing yourself, or probably find an attorney to do it for around $1000.
File the name yourself. It doesn't matter a bit what your company is called. The tradename or Trademark will refer to the name your brand is known as. Your company could own yourdomain and yet be called "Company X". Filing for a trademark for yourdomain would be made for Company X- hence company X would own the rights to the tradename yourdomain. Making yourdomain a registered tradename would also mean you could tell Google and any paid advertising under that name would cease.
Trademarks do not give you exclusive rights to a name, including domain names, and unless you have a famous mark, protection only extends to your type of usage. There are multiple owners of trademarks on "MySpace" - each having different usage rights. In theory, you could have dozens of different trademark owners for the same name.
Thanks for your help. So basically the reason I want to trademark the site name is so that I can get the .com, currently we only own the .net and the owner of the .com is asking a ridiculous price for it. So from what I understand if I register a single class trademark for "MySiteName", then does this mean that the owner of the .com has to hand over the domain???
This is a very common misconception. You can't go out and trademark a name and then claim rights to a domain name. A trademark protects your usage - i.e. it would prevent the .com owner from riding your goodwill - using the domain in a manner that competes with your business. If I owned "apple.com" Apple Corp wouldn't have any claim to the domain unless I started using the domain in a manner that competes with their usage. If the domain was registered before you started using the mark, it can't be bad faith unless the owner switched the usage of the domain to ride your goodwill. There are some exceptions to this when it comes to famous marks (research cybersquatting) - but this probably isn't go to be applicable in your situation. Even a WIPO action to take a domain can be expensive - while the initial action would run in the low $xxxx range, if disputed and appealed, you could wind up in a situation where legal fees run into seven figures (like Madonna.com). It is often much cheaper just to buy the domain from the owner. Without knowing the exact name, it is really impossible to speculate how you should proceed - and you should really get advice from an IP attorney.
OP, I want to try to take on the business registration part of your question, since it looks like the TM part is pretty much covered. Generally, you would register your business in the state in which you live (unless there's a reason that you need to register it somewhere else) and your websites would be owned by that company. You don't need to register a different company for each website (unless they're doing something that would be legally questionable). I generally recommend a different company for each type of business. So, if you have 3 retail websites, that'd be one company. If you then have a hosting and webdesign company, I'd then register another company. That way if one part of your business gets into trouble, the others don't have to go down with it. Make sense? Deena __________________________________________________________________________ Any opinions are offered without knowledge of the specific law of your jurisdiction and with only the limited information provided in your post. No advice given here should be reasonably relied upon by you or any third party without consulting an attorney who is aware of all of the facts and law surrounding your situation. Any advice given here is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship in any way.
So basically there is no way I can legally obtain the .com domain for my website even if it is trademarked? Even though that person isn't using the domain for anything, it is currently just parked.
if the owner registered the .com AFTER you started using the .net, and you can prove he did it in bad faith (eg, he bought the name just to ride on your success) then you have a case of cybersquatting and you can open a case. This is even true without a TM, because just using the name gives you the copyright on it. However, it seems to me you would have registered the .com if you could when you started, so i guess he already owned it. In wich case, you have no other way of getting the domain then to buy it from him. If i had owned myspace.com before myspace started, they would not be eglible to just take away the domain from me either
As mjewel said there are exceptions, though they're very specific and limited. While your reason is arguably understandable: http://domains.adrforum.com/domains/decisions/1214404.htm Then again, lots of people violate the 10 Commandment. Unless you don't mind someone else doing that to you. OTOH: http://www.domainersgazette.com/square-pizza-com-gets-it/ If the person really won't negotiate the price down, then do move along. Other options do exist.