well guys, here's the question; does the same legal issues about trademarks in domains apply to subdomains? .blogspot.com for example, i was planning to do a website containing information about certain trademark (mainly a directory for it's dealers) for example ( apple-dealers dot com ) i think this is illegal, even considering the fact that it can be considered that i m promoting them? if it's illegal, how about using a subdomain, does same constrains apply? for example apple dot computer-dealers dot com will apple complain about such stuff? is it legal to use it. one last thing about using the name in subdomain of blogspot.com is it legal? thanks everyone for the help NOTE: here i mean mainly famous offline trademarks as i mentioned "apple" "IBM" "Dell" for example, i dont mean someone registering "xyz.com" as a tradename or as a patent
First, I would not post the same question in multiple places. The consequences on DP are worse than that for trademark violations! (I am just teasing, you are totally fine posting this question as it's own thread!) Second, Many of the legal questions on DP want a solid YES or NO on whether something is legal. In my opinion there are other considerations. Basically, every time I drive I break the law as I speed over the legal speed limit. I do it anyway, because the physical danger is minimal and I also have evaluated the legal dangers and for me the risk is worth the reward. Much the same thinking applies to any business decision. Third, anyone can get sued for anything. It may not go far, but there is nothing you can do to keep from getting sued. Fourth, Most people will not initiate a lawsuit, in the U.S., unless they have suffered sufficient damages to warrant the expense. I can hardly think of any circumstance where it is worth suing somebody and the damages are less than $10,000. It would hardly be worth the time and expense. That is not to say it does not happen, but Kobe Bryant is not going to sue someone running a fan site, unless that site started to make a lot of money. Enough that it was worth wasting his time and money over. Fifth, if you are a risk averse person, then don't do it. Sixth, your risk is dependent on where you reside and the laws of that jurisdiction. In conclusion, there are people here on DP (and everywhere) who will tell you 'you can't do that' or 'you can't use those pics'. You have to decide what your risk is, and is the reward worth it. Seriously, there is no actress that is going to try and sue some Indian webmaster running a fan site. In short, use your own judgment. * These are my opinions only and do not constitute any legal advice on any particular set of facts.
Trademark law has a lot of areas that are grey. One of the tests is, could the name lead to confusion between a Customer's use and the use by the holder of a valid trade or service mark? - i.e could the the TM holder argue "AmericanIdol.blogspot.com" confuse consumers into thinking this was an offical site? Such an infrigement case has been filed: http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/pdf/jj_google_suit.pdf The vast majority of trademark infringement cases are not about loss of income. A trademark holder is required to protect their domain name - it is almost always a financial loss for the trademark holder (legal fees) when they go after smaller sites - yet many such suits are filed. The risk on a subdomain infringement suit, as a general statement, is greatly reduced. That doesn't mean there aren't some very aggressive TM holders that don't think twice about filing an infringement suit. You can search for infringement suits on the particular company and see if they to be litigious with their TM. I guess there is also a risk that a legal threat against the TLD could get them to take down the subdomain rather than pay legal costs for a subdomain they have no real financial interest in.