Can a domain name be a trademark [Explained]

Last updated : Sept 4, 2022

What is a trademarked domain?

Domain name trademark applies to a domain name if: It is distinctive or its distinction results from consumer association of the name and the Internet business; and. The owner of the domain name was the first to use it in association with the sale of goods or services.

How do I know if a domain is trademarked?

You can search all applied-for and registered trademarks free of charge by using the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)'s Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS).

Is trademark and domain the same?

Domain name Domain names are used to locate and bring users to a specific website or place on the internet. Trade mark A trade mark is used to identify and distinguish your goods or services in the marketplace.

What happens if someone trademarks my domain name?

If you trademark your domain name, you have legal protection if someone uses your trademarked name. You can sue the other company and recover financial losses you might have incurred.

Can a domain name violate a trademark?

Domain name trademark infringement occurs when a person or business uses a domain name that is protected by a trademark, thereby infringing upon another's trademark protection.

How much does it cost to trademark a domain name?

The typical filing fee for a domain name mark is $325 per class (2018 figure) if you file electronically using the PTO's Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS ). It can cost more, however, if you will be offering a number of different services on your website.

How do I permanently buy a domain name?

Anyone can buy a domain name. The most straightforward way to do so is to visit a domain name registrar, such as A2, GoDaddy, Google Domains, or Namecheap, key in the domain you want to buy, and pay a fee.

How long does a trademark last?

A federal trademark lasts 10 years from the date of registration, with 10-year renewal terms. Between the fifth and sixth year after the registration date, the registrant must file an affidavit to state that the mark is still in use.

How long can you hold a domain name?

When you register a domain name, you're able to use it for the period of time you registered it for, which is typically between one to ten years.

Does GoDaddy own my domain name?

If you visit https://whois.domaintools.com/ or https://who.godaddy.com/ and type in the domain name, you can see who owns a domain name. While difficult to read because it's all one big block of text, you can see: The registrant is Michael Cyger (me) The email address and phone number are listed.

Why do I have to pay yearly for a domain name?

The fee you pay the domain name registrar is an annual fee. In other words, you "own" the domain only as long as you keep paying the yearly fee for it. In this sense, the "ownership" of the name is not like the ownership of a physical object (eg, a car) that you buy, where once you pay for it you own it permanently.

What are the three types of trademarks?

What you'll learn: Arbitrary and Fanciful Trademarks. Suggestive Trademarks. Descriptive Trademarks.

How long does a trademark take to get approved?

Usually, the process takes 12 to 18 months. Registering your trademark is a complex procedure that involves your application moving through various stages. Learning about each stage in the process will help you understand why getting a trademark takes as long as it does.

Can you lose a trademark if you don't protect it?

If you don't enforce your trademark, you risk losing reputation, business, sales, customers, and more to the infringer. There's also a concept in trademark law called abandonment. Generally, if you don't use your mark for three years or more, it's considered abandoned.

Who owns the domain name?

Who is the domain owner? Domain names are owned by whoever first registered the web address with an accredited registrar, such as Domain.com. In order for that person to maintain ownership, they have to pay registration fees and ensure that all of their contact details are up to date.

Why some domain names are so expensive?

So Why Do Some Domains Cost So Much? As your registrar, Namecheap adds just a little bit to each domain name it sells to cover expenses. So when you see a big price difference, that's because the wholesaler charges a lot more for that domain name.

Do web domains expire?

Each domain name has its own registration and expiration date. Most domain names can be registered for a period from 1 to 10 years. They can be renewed, if necessary, while they are still active or reactivated after their expiration date.

What does .IO stand for?

io” web-address extension, widely used by technology startups owing to its “input/output” connotations. The country code top-level domain (ccTLD) actually stands for “Indian Ocean,” and it specifically refers to the British Indian Ocean Territory, or BIOT. That's the Chagos Archipelago.

What do you do if someone owns your domain name?

If someone registered you or your business's name as a domain name, you have three primary options available to acquire the domain: Reach out to the cybersquatter or cyberpirate and try to informally resolve the domain name dispute, File a lawsuit based on cybersquatting laws to obtain the domain, or.

Why does GoDaddy say my domain is for sale?

If you have domains in your account you aren't actively using, or don't plan to use at all, you can list them for sale.

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hello and welcome today we're going to be talking about if you own your own domain do you also have any trademark rights now the reason why this is important is because intellectual property is confusing or it can be confusing and so i really wanted to to nail or drill down on this to help you understand that there are different components and there are different ways of looking at things if you are new here my name is taylor darcy from think legal where i help you create the business of your dreams so welcome i'm happy to have you here also we go live every monday through friday at 11 so please join us except for holidays that's the only time we don't we don't go live and i'm excited to get talking about this all right so first of all a domain name is not intellectual property sir per se it a domain name is a it's a form that you you do own it but it doesn't intellectual property or traditional intellectual property is a copyright a patent a trademark that type of thing you want to keep that in mind is that a domain name is something that's relatively new compared to traditional uh intellectual property is it possible that there may be a federal someday registration that involves this the answer is yes that's possible is there anything out there yet no it's not anything that is permanent or federally registration that you know and it is evidenced by you're not paying the government for a domain name you're not paying the government to register a domain name you're paying a private company that owns that name and then you purchase that name and a domain name just so you understand context-wise domain name is words that point to an ip address there's something behind it that's not that's not part of it so those those words are just easy you can actually get to your domain from a different from typing by typing in digits and that's the foundation of the domain name at the the basic level so it's not intellectual property in the traditional sense and it does not protect your brand if you get a domain name there is no federal protection for it there's nothing you can do if someone takes your name business-wise federally speaking so that's the that's why there's this important distinction between those uh differences between an intellectual property that is where you can sue such as copyrights trademarks uh patents versus a domain name can't really sue over per per se uh or at the at based on intellectual property on to the next thing a trademark is federally protected in that instance you can sue if someone infringes on your trademark so think nike reebok quiznos any any type of place that has their name trademarked if you try to use it you can be sued for it so you want to keep that in mind that a trademark provides federal protection a domain name provides no protection whatsoever now that being said it doesn't provide the same type of protection if you register a trade or a domain name in the name of a business that's already existing and you don't it can be construed as cyber squadding and that is illegal so it you can't do that so if you the the proper order of operations is you want to establish your business get your trademark get your domain name all in that particular order or at least together now a trademark can take six months or longer to get because the federal government takes three months before they even assign it to their one of their trademark attorneys if you're looking at getting a trademark today is better than tomorrow because it's going to take a little while now i had a trademark that it took almost a year because of the back and forth that we had to do because what we provided wasn't good enough at the beginning and so we provided more and it worked we were able to get that trademark and then i've had trademarks get denied up to unfortunately 20 of all trademarks get denied and it's there's nothing you can do about it that's because they're too similar or there's a myriad of other reasons and so the sooner that you try it the less likely that somebody else will take it and the better off you'll be that's that's why you're you know today is better than tomorrow to do a trademark um and one of the things that i want to point out to people is that a the combination of registering your business name getting your trademark and doing your domain name is the best combination for your protection of your brand your business and your name because that gives you protection on every most every front that is exploitable if you will so you want to keep these types of things in mind as you are making these decisions with your business is that it's not as simple as saying oh i own my own domain name i don't need to register a trademark the the short answer is you do and you do not own it unless you do your own trademark so keep that type of thing in mind as you're running your business as you're making these types of decisions is that it's always better to prevent and save yourself the money than it is to have to litigate it later for something that you did if someone registers your trademark in in before you do it can be an issue because it just gets more complicated that way because it's first to register not first in use most of the time unless they did it with the intent of of defrauding you keep these thoughts in mind if you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments i'm here to answer them again we go live every monday through friday uh at 11 except for holidays if you've gotten value out of this video don't forget to hit subscribe and like and we'll see you later you

Thanks for your comment Gil Nitschke, have a nice day.
- Shelli Bertling, Staff Member

I am Andre Minka the founder and CEO of trademark Factory and in this video I'm gonna show you how trademarks compare to domain names let's start with what's similar both trademarks and domain names help people find you and your business both trademarks and domain names operate on a first-come first-served basis meaning that you can easily check if a certain name is available but also just because it's available today doesn't mean that it won't be taken by someone else tomorrow at which point you're out of luck just because you were the first who thought it might be a good idea to own a name means nothing unless you actually act on it also you can build value around both trademarks and domain names and you can license or even sell them there are also a few differences the trademark you process is much longer and much more complex compared to getting a domain name it takes a few minutes to register a new domain name it takes more than a year to register a trademark anyone can register a domain name you need experience and specialized knowledge to successfully register a trademark you need to renew domain names every year you need to rename trademarks every 10 years in most countries and every 50 years in Canada with domain names if the exact domain name is available you can have it with trademarks even if the exact name is not trademarked you won't be able to get it if there is another previously applied for or registered confusingly similar trademark and of course trademarks are significantly more expensive to get than domain names so there you have it there's a lot of similarities and a lot of differences but what's important is that most businesses need to have both they need to have their brand reflected in domain names and they need to have their brands protected as trademarks this is just one of many short videos where I provide specific no BS answers to your questions about trademarks so subscribe now and be notified whenever the next video goes live and if you have a brand that you want to protect go to trademark factory com fill out the form tell us what the brand is and we'll help you protect it with a free comprehensive trademark search for a single all-inclusive flat fee with a hundred percent money-back guarantee I'll see you in the next video you [Applause]

Thanks kyrnei your participation is very much appreciated
- Shelli Bertling

About the author

Shelli Bertling

I've studied kinetics at University of Chicago in Chicago and I am an expert in medical physics. I usually feel sad. My previous job was sheet metal workers I held this position for 12 years, I love talking about feng shui decorating and waboba. Huge fan of Owen Wilson I practice volleyball and collect police memorabilia.