How to Use Trademarks in Domain Names
The Internet has spawned a whole new area of law dealing with the treatment of intellectual property--trademarks, copyrights and patents--as it is used on the web. Questions of trademark protection and use have come up in cases involving online advertising, domain names, cyber-squatting, trademark "dilution" and other tangled legal areas. For the most part, online trademark protections and limitations are much like offline protections and limitations.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Check trademark status. If you or your company own the trademark in question, then you are generally entitled to use the mark in your domain name. You can search registered trademarks at the website of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Your company's legal department should also be able to tell you the trademark status of terms you want to use.
-
2
Ask for permission. If you don't own the trademark in question, then using it without permission can expose you to an infringement claim. Most websites for companies with familiar trademarks will carry information about the company's trademark policy and use. Look for links, which are often located at the very bottom of the homepage, for terms like "Trademark Use," "Privacy Policy," "Legal" or "Intellectual Property." Learn about a company's policy and find contact information to request use of a trademark.
-
-
3
Learn about infringement. Unauthorized use of a trademark is called "infringement," but not all uses are automatically illegal. In most cases, use of another company's trademark has to produce some sort of demonstrated harm to be legally actionable. Visit the Chilling Effects website to lean more about infringement as it applies to domain names, or search the Internet for "trademark infringement" to find other resources.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Even if you think you have clear use of a trademark that you own, if another business is using the same name or mark, then they might have a legitimate claim as well. Even if they operate halfway around the world, this is the Internet age and distance is not particularly relevant. Keep alert for any other uses of a term that you consider your trademarked property.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Set of simbols image by PaulPaladin from Fotolia.com
