Course / Lesson 4 of 8 ยท 3 min read
Trademarks: the check that saves you
If a domain name uses someone else's trademark, the owner can take it from you. You lose the name and every dollar you put into it.
How names get taken
Trademark owners can file a complaint under the UDRP (Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy). In simple terms, they must show the name is confusingly similar to their mark, that you have no real right to it, and that you registered and used it in bad faith. If they win, the name moves to them.
In the United States, a trademark owner can also sue under a federal law against cybersquatting.
The search to do every time
- Search the words in the USPTO trademark search. Look at live marks, not dead ones.
- Search the words on Google. Is a company already known by that name?
- Ask: would a normal person think this name belongs to that company?
Red flags: a famous brand name plus a word ("brand-deals", "brandshop"), a brand with a typo, or a name you only want because a company is getting big.
Safer names
Plain words that describe a product, a service or a place are much safer, because no one company owns the common meaning of a word. Even so, do the search.
This lesson is general education, not legal advice. For a name you plan to spend real money on, ask a trademark lawyer.