Hi everyone, I grabbed a domain name but im starting to have second thoughts. I'm going to type out the exact situation with a fictional story. I buy a domain name called bestwebhosts.com. This site is a review site with different host providers with links to there homepages. One of the sites being reviewed is called webhosts.com. My url is exactly the same except with best before it and weg hosts is just a generic name for a service and not a company or product, therefore I don't believe it's illegal to use the domain name. If I use bestwebhosts.com and review multiple providers, possibly directing them to sales, will I have any problems from webhosts.com b/c of the similarity in the name? Thanks
It could certainly be trademark infringement - but it really depends on the exact name and how generic the name is. If you are talking about a trademark, adding words or letters does not get around infringement.
Thanks, How can I verify if its trademarked? The name is literally similar as my example. Another example would be gameserver.com and my domain being bestgameserver.com. How can someone trademark such a generic term like server or game server?
You could check the uspto.gov site for a registered mark, but in the US, you can establish a common law trademark by being the first to use in a particular classification - no filing needed. You can't trademark "apple" as a fruit, but you can for a brand of computer. As they were using the name before you, they would have established first usage trademark rights - if indeed the name is able to be trademarked. If the company thinks you are trying to ride their goodwill by operating a site with part of their name it - a site which has similar type of usage, they may opt to sue you. It's impossible to say without knowing the exact term, but it sound like you could have some infringement issues if you use the domain. It really comes down to how far the company is willing to go to protect their business. The bigger the company, the more aggressive they usually are. If you're serious about the site, see an IP attorney for a detailed opinion.