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03-18-2009, 04:47 PM
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#1 | ||
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NC
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Trademark / Copyright Question
I know we have a few lawyers on the board. I have a quick trademark and copyright question which I'm hoping someone can answer. I recently purchased a domain name which includes the name of a major social networking website. I thought this was ok because I found other sites which use the name of this website in their own URLs on the Internet. I was told today by a staffer at this networking website that the website is in the process of trademarking its name worldwide and "may" take action against anyone using their name in a domain for any reason.
I went to the ICANN website and it seems to indicate that domain names are not subject to trademark and copyright laws as long as they are not used in bad faith to misrepresent the brand in question. My question is: is there any way that I'm allowed to keep my domain name in this situation? If it matters, I am not selling anything on the website and its domain is not a frequent or purposeful misspelling of the social networking website's name so, essentially, I am not representing my website as having anything to do with the larger site in any way.
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"You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball...and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." -Jim Bouton |
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03-18-2009, 09:48 PM
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#2 |
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Backwoods, SC
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mispace.com
facialbook.com |
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03-18-2009, 09:52 PM
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#3 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Massachusetts
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so what - is it something like http://www.ihatemyspace.com ?
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03-18-2009, 09:57 PM
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#4 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NC
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The URL has the word "Twitter" in the title.
__________________
"You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball...and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time." -Jim Bouton |
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03-18-2009, 09:57 PM
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#5 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Utah
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WIPO is leaning more and more towards the trademark owner anymore.
If you are using it for something besides monetary gains or defaming the company who knows which way they would swing in the vote. I have had to give up several domain names for some of my stores I own because I actually ended up beating my supplier and getting brand confusion, in the end it panned out for me because the supplier bought them off of me, but if they wanted and their lawyers stated as such, they could have taken me to court and not had to do squat. Anyways, honestly it is all dependent upon what you do with it, and whatever you do...do not offer to sell it to them.....let them make the offer to you.
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"forgetting what is in the past, I strive for the future" |
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