Should I change my domain name?

Discussion in 'Legal Issues' started by rockin, Nov 6, 2007.

  1. #1
    A month ago I bought domain, petz-dating.com. Today while I was surfing I came across a page, http://patest.petz-reloaded.com, where it said
    "Petz is a trademark, and Catz and Dogz are registered trademarks of Ubi Soft Entertainment, Inc."

    What does mean trademark?

    Should I change domain name?

    :confused:
     
    rockin, Nov 6, 2007 IP
  2. Colbyt

    Colbyt Notable Member

    Messages:
    3,224
    Likes Received:
    185
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    210
    #2
    Maybe.

    http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm

    Looks like it might be in the process if these are the same people. Otherwise you both may be in the same spot.

    Trademark means someone has paid the fees and registered the name as "mark" of their business.
     
    Colbyt, Nov 6, 2007 IP
  3. mjewel

    mjewel Prominent Member

    Messages:
    6,693
    Likes Received:
    514
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    360
    #3
    Trademarks are granted by classification - and there are over 40 different classifications. If your usage does not conflict with an existing mark and its classification, you should be fine. For instance, there are several owners of a trademark on "Apple" or "MySpace" - each having different usage rights.

    Also, doing a check on the USPTO.gov site is only the first step - In the US, a company does not have to register their mark to establish usage rights.
     
    mjewel, Nov 6, 2007 IP
  4. rockin

    rockin Peon

    Messages:
    39
    Likes Received:
    0
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #4
    Ok, I'll look into that. Thank you both for the info.
     
    rockin, Nov 6, 2007 IP
  5. rlr49

    rlr49 Peon

    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #5
    Whatever you do, do NOT offer to sell the domain to that site you found.
     
    rlr49, Nov 14, 2007 IP
  6. soEvo

    soEvo Peon

    Messages:
    252
    Likes Received:
    13
    Best Answers:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    #6
    Ye, you do that, you won't get a penny for it
     
    soEvo, Nov 14, 2007 IP