Using a Company's Name

Discussion in 'Legal Issues' started by sayyes, May 27, 2006.

  1. #1
    I know it's a big no-no to use a company's name in your domain (like myebay.com), but what about using it prominately on your site.

    For instance, what if I had a site where I asked the user to choose between ebay or amazon in a form? Could they come after me?
     
    sayyes, May 27, 2006 IP
  2. mjewel

    mjewel Prominent Member

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    #2
    You shouldn't have any problem in using a trademark in a poll. You can always put a disclaimer for the trademark(s) on the page. As long as a reasonable person wouldn't confuse your site with being owned by ebay or amazon, you should be fine. A domain name is an entirely different story - because even if you put a disclaimer on your site, you have already used a trademarked term to get someone to your site.

    It's like a store - you can sell "Guess jeans" or even have a sign that says "Compare our jeans to Guess" but you can't use "Guess" as the name of your store. A store name and domain name are considered "Servicemarks."
     
    mjewel, May 28, 2006 IP
  3. thes

    thes Peon

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    #3
    yeah, many run polls with trademark names and have no problems
     
    thes, Jun 2, 2006 IP
  4. MattUK

    MattUK Notable Member

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    #4
    No I wouldn't worry either, as long as you didn't publish anything damanging and untrue about the company you should be fine.
     
    MattUK, Jun 2, 2006 IP