Hello all, I am contemplating buying a domain in order to start a new site about fashion. The domain has been dropped. The domain is actually the name of the company from the previous owners who actually transferred their site to a different domain. This is most likely trademark infringement, right? However, if I am not mistaken, there are some exceptions. For example, as in this case, what if the name of the company is something completely generic? Let's assume for example that this was the domain of a clothing store. The name was GreatClothingStore.com - Then the owners were to drop this domain and move over to GCS.com. What if I were to buy GreatClothingStore.com and start a site about fashion or even the site of a new clothing store? The reason I am asking is that I plan to make a big investment on this site and the domain works like a charm. Then again, I wouldn't want to risk having all my hard work and money go to waste if a trademark infringement were to come up in the future once the site is established. So, I am kindly asking for your opinion on this. Just reply if you know what you are talking about though. Thanks in advance!
You should never make a decision based on some example that isn't the actual domain (which you shouldn't post) but from what you have posted, there is certainly a chance you could be sued for infringement since the usage is the same. Even if you have an argument for generic/descriptive usage, if the other company "thinks" it is infringement and decides to sue, you will be spending huge sums of money to prove it. If you win, you will still be out legal fees. Since you're planning on making a "big investment" you should really find an intellectual property rights attorney and have them give you advice on the actual name you are thinking of using. Spending a little money now can save you huge sums of money down the road.
Agreed. Did you do your own diligence and search whether there is any trademark registered or being used?
HI you can check the availability of the domain name using some web tool like domaintyper.com. in these kind of situation it is better not to get struck and better have a research before deciding it. get copyrighted and feel free in the 1st step itself.