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Should I trademark my website name?

Can you make a website with the same name of one that has a trademark?

  • Suppose samplewebsite. com has a trademark, if you create samplewebsite. org would that violate the trademark of samplewebsite. com? Also, does the situation change if the trademark was filed in another country?

  • Answer:

    I think if you were a little clearer about what you were trying to use for the name of your website, I might be able to give a clearer answer. It sounds to me like you would like to use the title of a copyrighted work, such as a book, as the name of your website. This is inadvisable. While copyrights do not protect titles, trademarks can and do. It is possible that the title you want to use is protected by trademark or other IP law. Just because something isn't protected doesn't mean you won't get sued. If your website sees any success and it uses the title of a famous work, there is a risk that the holder of the copyright (or trademark if it exists) or the author will sue you. You don't have to be right to sue someone, you just have to hire a lawyer. Trademarks are a very fact specific area of law and they don't need to be registered to exist. Without knowing the specifics of the case, I can't evaluate how likely this is with your given title. From a non-legal perspective, you are setting yourself up for brand-confusion and probably search engine optimization struggles.I'm not your attorney, you aren't my client, and this isn't legal advice.

Audrey Hare at Quora Visit the source

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Other answers

Trademark infringement analyses are very much fact-dependent, so the most direct answer to your question probably is a somewhat indefinite "There is a substantial likelihood that you would have a problem." Perhaps more interesting is how that problem likely would play out, at least initially. ICANN has a Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy that can be invoked relatively quickly and inexpensively (in comparison to filing a trademark infringement action in court). The UDRP is discussed in "How to Defeat a Cybersquatter" at http://dana.sh/cfBZJU.This answer is not a substitute for professional legal advice....

Dana H. Shultz

I'd like to give you a straightforward answer, but this is the law . . . You need to ask yourself why you want to use a .org domain name that is either identical or confusingly similar to another's domain /trademark.  If you are using the .org domain name because you have similar goods and services and/or want to capitalize on another's trademark.  STOP!  Rewind and think of another domain that is preferably arbitrary (a real name not associated with the goods or services) or fanciful (a made up name) and that does not incorporate other's trademarks in a way that could cause consumer confusion.  If the use of the .org name is more coincidental, and you do not have similar goods and services, you MAY be OK, but agreeing with Ms. Schultz above, "There is a substantial likelihood that you will have a problem".  This is especially true if the .com is a business with deep pockets.  However, in  a third scenario, if you want to parody or protest using another's trademark, this is usually "fair use".  See, for example http://whitehouse.gov1.info/ or http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Wikipedia  Note that in these sites, they are clearly spoofing the white house/Obama and Wikipedia.  Hope this helps!This answer is not a substitute for legal advice and it does n...

Kristin Chapman Hiibner

There seems to be a little confusion. A name can't be copyrighted, although it might be trademarked. Or, if it's a living person's name, that person may have rights in his or her name.

Matt Levy

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