Custom Search
|
|
Domain Trademarks – More Than Just A Domain Needed
A trademark is simply a registration with the Patent and Trademark Office that creates a line in time for a domain. It says to the world that this domain is owned by you and that the right to use it in the internet class is yours and yours only. If another party should infringe on your mark, a trademark gives you a strong legal position to stop them from doing so. Unfortunately, there is a lot of confusion when it comes to actually filing a domain name trademark application. The fact you own a domain is not sufficient to give you the right to have a domain. The domain must do more than simply provide an address for the site. It also must indicate the source of a product or service. What does this mean? Well, let’s consider a rather obvious example. Google is a trademarked name. If we look at the home page, we can see there is very little content on the page, but “Google” is always prominently portrayed. If it was not, the ability to trademark the phrase way back when Google started would have been compromised. By placing the name on the page, the search service is identified as being provided by Google and the domain can be trademarked. This raises a practical issue. How do you know if you have “enough” domain to get it registered? I have found that the Patent and Trademark Office examiners look for the name to be prominently displayed. If this is done, then the prospects of the application being approved go up dramatically. If it is not done, they go down dramatically. Should you trademark your domain? Absolutely. There are huge benefits to doing so if anyone should ever seek to infringe upon your mark, an event that happens just about every day on the web. The key is to simply make sure you do it right. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Richard A. Chapo is with SanDiegoBusinessLawFirm.com - where he will register trademark domain name applications for your site today. |
|