Both IBM and Apple were prescient enough to grab their own domain names, but you can understand the consternation they might have suffered had they been slow, like McDonalds Corp., which first had to deal with a New York journalist who had registered mcdonalds.com as part of an article he wrote for Wired magazine. Sprint Communications Corp. last year tried to pull a fast one on arch-competitor MCI Telecommunications by registering mci.com. While Internic tries to block obvious attempts to register a rival's name, it took a week for the mistake to be discovered and the registration rescinded. MCI now owns mci.com. While McDonalds and MCI got their names back without judicial interference, two similar cases were fought, and then settled last year in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In MTV v. Curry, 94 Civ. 3271 (LMM), Music Television (MTV) sued former employee Adam Curry for trademark infringement, for registering and using the domain name mtv.com. Details of the settlement weren't divulged, but MTV now owns mtv.com. In Kaplan Educational Centers v. The Princeton Review, XXXXXXXXXXX, Kaplan sued John Katz, president of rival bar study course, The Princeton Review, for trademark infringement after Katz registered kaplan.com as a domai n name. Details of the settlement weren't divulged, but Kaplan now owns kaplan.com. Bruce P. Keller, counsel for the International Trademark Association and a partner in New York's Debevoise & Plimpton, said that a company that sold apples could have been the first to register apple.com as a domain name with confidence that the courts would have dismissed a challenge by Apple Computer Corp. But you couldn't have registered apple.com, he added, merely for the thrill of it. ``The law has been tested. The commercial use of somebody's name on the Internet can cause dilution and confusion of that name. ``The interesting question is if the name isn't being used in a commercial sense,'' Keller said. ``That makes the factual matter more intriguing, but theoretically it still creates a problem for the trademark owner. ``I think that as the Internet becomes more and more commercial, and that's happening rapidly, it will be easier and easier for trademark owners to prove dilution and infringement, and those are the bedrock of trademark infringement in the U.S.'' But David Kovanen, vice president of Corporate Intelligence Corp. in Browns Point, Washington near Seattle, has a different perspective. ``The law is so excruciatingly well-trod in that area. ``If you register ibm.com and you market white mice, or do nothing with it, then there's no violation,'' he said. ``Ivan B. Martin probably can get along with ibm.com, so long as he walks the street very narrowly. ``But if he decided to open a computer sales company, that would be infringement. With companies like IBM and Coca-Cola, they are so well known there's little that can be done that doesn't infringe.'' Kovanen, who is not a lawyer, said his company encountered a situation in which somebody registered a domain name that should have been owned by Corporate Intelligence, but little could be done about it.. ``It's interesting law, and hungry lawyers make it more interesting,'' he said. ``But from a businessman's perspective it's not so interesting. New trails wind up getting cut through the same old precedents.'' One of those new trails potentially is the trademarking of the domain name itself, but the Patent and Trademark Office stands in the way of anyone attempting to blaze through the wilderness. According to Lynne Beresford, the PTO's trademark legal administrator, the PTO is recommending a policy of denying the granting of marks to Internet domain names, unless those names already function as trademarks. The recommended guidelines haven't been released to the public yet, but presumably will generate heated discussion once the trademark bar and business community understand the inherent irony of the policy. Yet all of that may be academic to companies that fail to act now by registering a suitable domain name, said Carl Oppedahl, a patent and trademark specialist in New York who believes that law firms especially will have a tough time arguing trademark infringement, given a distinct lack of name recognition. Calls for Internic to become an Internet policing agency by doing an expensive trademark search on every domain name application would be wasteful and unnecessary, he said. ``It's a transitionary problem. All the big companies eventually will have their own names.'' But they may not be the names they wanted. Some of the biggest firms in the country have acted successfully, like Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison with brobeck.com and Cooley Godward Castro Huddleson & Tatum with cooley.com. But others either risk missing their name or already have seen their opportunity pass. Keller's own New York firm, Debevoise & Plimpton could still get debevoise.com, but already has lost out on dp.com. Closer to home, Morrison & Foerster can't have either morrison.com or mf.com, and Pillsbury Madison & Sutro will have to settle for something other than pillsbury.com or pms.com. ``The early bird gets the worm,'' said Oppedahl. This copyrighted article is included here by kind permission of the author. ----- Brought to you by - The 'Lectric Law Library
Is an Internet domain name the same as a trademark? No. Registration of your domain name by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is separate from trademark registration. Yet you may be able to register your domain name as a trademark, provided the name is being used in connection with a site that is offering goods (such as books) or services. For information on domain-name registration, see below, "How to Register an Internet Domain Name."
Your business can acquire trade or service marks through the consistent use of a mark. The symbols TM and SM demonstrate the owner treats the mark as a trademark or service mark. There is no requirement to federally register at the trademark office. You are still protected under intellectual property laws. However, if another party uses your mark it can be more difficult to prove your ownership. To register online with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), go to www.uspto.gov There is a registration fee for each name, logo, and slogan. Federal registration ensures another party is not already using your mark. A registered trademark gives you exclusive rights to use a mark with your particular goods or services. The USPTO can only register trademarks for marks that are used across state lines. A website customers can access in other areas can satisfy this requirement. Otherwise, you will only be able to apply for a state trademark. Only a mark registered and approved by the USPTO can use the ® symbol. Since the application process can take many months to complete, use the TM or SM symbol in the meantime to establish your intention to use the mark as a trademark. Make sure you keep records as to when your mark was first used in commerce and regulate the use of your mark in the marketplace.
Sorry you can't understand what you posted above. It confirms exactly what I told you. Oh, and "apple.com" isn't trademarked. The mark on "Apple" is much stronger. I did look it up, do you know how? lol uspto.gov If the search is too complicated for you, you can always review this: http://www.apple.com/legal/trademark/appletmlist.html
No one said you couldn't, you said quote: "you will see all major companies also registering their trademark .com" Now that proves without a shadow of a doubt that you are an idiot.
yes apple.com is trademarked to apple , what are you talking about , are you saying that apple.com is not a trademark of apple inc ? really you are an idiot
http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4006:aem8ip.2.1 http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4006:aem8ip.3.4 http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4006:aem8ip.4.9 the list goes on and on I think I have proved enough that you are the biggest idiot on here
Don't back track because you were proven wrong again. You said "registered" and now you are lying to try and cover up your ignorance. What is the registration number for the trademark "Apple.com" .... and don't post again until you have it, fool. lol
I keep answering your questions and you keep looking stupid and more stupid , you have no idea about what you are talking about really keep out of my conversations until you have something intelligent to say .
What? You can't find the registration for "apple.com" - so were you lying or just ignorant? You have to choose one. "you will see all major companies also registering their trademark .com" Let me guess, you're going to say Apple.com isn't a major company?
I am done arguing with an idiot , there is no point of arguing any further or wasting my time trying to educate you , you seem not to have the capacity to learn . I have proved every point of yours wrong and you continue to argue
show me where I said apple.com was a registered trademark of apple inc , I dont recall ever typing that
as for apple registering their trademark with .com I have already proved the point that they do by giving you an example of mac.com being a registered trademark sigh such an idiot
Here's your post since you can't seem to find it (amazing). http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showpost.php?p=12737380&postcount=8 "ALL major companies" Now go away, liar. P.S. Is microsoft a major company? Why would they abandon their .com trademark? I guess they need to listen to your excellent advice
yeah I said all major companies and all major companies do it as I have proved you wrong over and over and over again , when did microsoft ever abandon their .com trademark ? You do not seem to understand that you can have something trademarked or service marked even if you dont register it . ok idiot where in this post do I say apple.com is a registered trademark of apple inc ? "I have won first use previous art , against people who have claimed trademark infringements before. If you had previous art to the domain then it is yours , did they trademark the name.com also ? They usually have to do this and you will see all major companies also registering their trademark .com If you had previous art then they are not entitled to your website or domain. They also have to be a .com website in order to take it away from you unless they of course already registered the trademark.com before you . I can open apple rockets and apple computers has no case against me etc , etc. Do not be bullied , I would file a counter suite to them immediately ." you keep making yourself seem more and more stupid , I would advise anyone to get professional legal advice and avoid retards like this guy . I think I have clearly stated and proved every point I made , and everything I have said and backed it up with evidence from legitimate sources. Trademark law is far from being a cut and dry law.