Domain Name Registration and Trademark Infringement
A Web Hosting Article Contributed by Hemant Mehta
Domain Name Registration and Trademark Implications!
Domain name registration can be a crafty job! If you are not careful and have not really done your homework, problems could arise in terms of trademark infringing and use of copyright material including names. This could also be termed as a type of plagiarism. It could make your days on the Internet numbered! Cases are known where some companies have initiated legal proceedings against webmasters who inadvertently used words or a combination of letters that could imply an infringement.
Look before You Leap in Domain Name Registration!
Let us for a moment put the cart before the horse by stating that it is the responsibility of one, who registers a domain name for her/his website! Laws relating to trademarks are no different on the web.
It must be understood that trademark laws are pretty tricky and interpretation complex, just like any other legal system, and expert advice must be sought to clarify these issues from an experienced trademark/patents attorney.
If a website registers a domain name that instigates a business that owns a trademark, and if this business visualizes that the domain name bears similarity (or even uses certain conjugated letters) causing some public confusion as to the websites under question, the trademark owner can bring on an infringement claim. The domain name registration for one's website could have been done in all its simplicity and ethical intentions, but the legal fact remains that one has overstepped one's toes!
The question arises that can a business owning a trademark really pursue a case of trespassing or infringement under these circumstances? The answer is in the affirmative as per the trademark laws and their normal interpretation. Then is the person or company that created and got the domain name registered responsible for this event? The answer is again "Yes"! Thus going back to the top opening sentence of this section!
What is Possible to Safeguard Domain Name Registration?
Domain name owners can certainly protect themselves. If one has a registered domain name that does not infringe on any trademarks, it is possible to register trademarks. Registration of a domain name as a trademark is never simple, though it can be effected..It must be well understood by the claimant of the trademark that the use of a domain name cannot simply be a web address to direct customers to their site. It should be such as to clearly identify the products or services of that business that provides those products and/or services, via the Internet.
Domain Name Registration and Trademark Information Sources
There are two sources one can tap on the Internet for related information and advice on trademarks and domain name registration. These are important sources to investigate before one takes the decision to either change the domain name registered for infringement - and if it is not infringing any other business - to take trademark for their domain name prior to actual registration. The two sources are:
United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Trademark Electronic Search System.
Researching the trademark regulations for the purpose of knowing your rights will avoid the possibility of litigations.
