I bought this domain today - hbo.name - I am guessing hbo is trademarked. Can I use it for forums about HBO shows or will they just tell me to take it down and can they ?
>>I am guessing hbo is trademarked Good guess! >>Can I use it for forums about HBO shows Not if you intend to profit from the site. >>will they just tell me to take it down and can they Will they? If they notice you. Can they? Absolutely: http://arbiter.wipo.int/domains/index.html If you make a site that contains vaild complaints or criticisms of HBO and you do not profit from the site in any way, there is a chance you could keep it online. You'd have a better chance of that if the name was "HBOsucks" rather than "HBO" -- which is a blatant attempt to confuse the average user into thinking your site is related to the parent company.
They'll leave you alone until your site becomes big enough that they notice. Then they'll send you a registered letter telling you to hand the domain over to them post haste for free or they'll see you in court. It's an old story, happens all the time.
Thanks for the replies, seems sort of unfair that just because they did not bother to register it, through neglect or laziness, that someone else can't, or that they should not pay for it.
You should go ahead and run with the domain name, and when they want to sue you, contact shoemoney and ask him for advice. Shoemoney has dealt with copyright infringement stuff before, and he's always managed to squeeze a ton of money out of it. PM him for more info.
Plan to get sued and then ask someone on the internet for legal advice? Well, that wouldn't be my first idea..... A trademark is a trademark. Should a company be expected to register every possible variation? Like home-box-office.biz, the-hbo.ws, order-hbo.be, hbo-sports.ca..... all of those would fall under their trademark if the site had content about HBO-- there would be thousands of possible domain names to register. Check out the link I posted above and look at the previously filed domain disputes. Half of them relate to Viagra or Cialis or some other scrip drug... the pharmaceutical companies check and pursue all of the related names every day because they can't be expected to register the thousands of possibilities.
I can see what you are saying but geeze come on hbo.name no variation there. What it tells me is that I can trademark something and then just forget about it untill I want to sue someone making money off of the name. Sounds like there is more money in trademarking names then suing people when they start making money on it.
k see if you ever get sued at wipo on a name, there are 3 points that they will consider: (1) the Domain Name is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which the Complainant has rights; (2) the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Domain Name; and (3) the Respondent registered and has used the Domain Name in bad faith. You have to win on at least 2 points to retain the domain. Most certainly you will lose on point one. However thik logically and if you can convince that point 2 and 3 are in your favor you will retain the domain.
just come up with a name that hbo is the abbreviation of, run your site under that and dont put in HBO content
So call it something like Home BBQ Organization and make it about bbq'ing and HBO can't touch me ? How about writing to them and asking to use the domain for complimetnary forums that are about HBO shows ? I guess if I did that then they said no then I used it for Home BBQ Organization they could come back and says I intended to use it for HBO stuff.
It is highly unlikely that hbo will grant permission to use their trademark - even if it is a complimentary website. They have a legal obligation to go after anyone, no matter how small, in order to protect their rights to their Federally registered trademark. They aren't really worried about losing a few dollars - they are worried about their trademark becoming generic. The minute you tell them about the domain, they are going to watch the domain for possible infringement. They own the rights to the name and have no obligation to register every possible TLD to protect their rights. Some companies will do it just to cut down on legal costs as many people who infringe are small-time operators who don't have the funds to pay damages and the treble legal fees. Trademarks are granted by classification - and as long as you use the domain for something that does not infringe upon their rights, you can use the domain i.e. you couldn't use the domain for anything related to movies, but likely could use it for "Home BBQ Organization" (depending on how broad their trademark is). IBM has a very broad trademark in all or almost all trademark categories to prevent anyone from using "IBM" in any way. They even produced a jewelry line - not because they wanted to get into jewelry - but because they wanted protection for "IBM" in the jewelry trademark classification so they could stop any type of usage of their trademark. As far as trademarking names to make money down the road, you first need to be the first person to use the name (for the particular use) and have continued usage before you can even apply for a Federal Trademark. The process takes at least 6 years (to become uncontestable) and costs about a thousand dollars (plus legal fees). I hold several Federal trademarks and it isn't a way to make money by suing people who infringe upon your trademark. Individuals and companies with deep pockets almost never make the mistake of infringing because they do extensive usage searches before using a name. The people who infringe are small time operators who don't have any money so it winds up costing you money because it isn't worth the time or effort to collect damages from.
Thanks - I put up forums on the site called it "Home BBQ Online" - just a bunch of forums dealing with BBQ - reviews of grills - recipes etc. Thanks for all the trademark info. it will come in handy when I am looking for doamins in hte future, I was wondering why that would even be available now I know.