Can i trademark a domain name [Expert-Advice]

Last updated : Sept 14, 2022

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.

Can domain name be protected under trademark?

Yes, domain names can also be registered and protected as trademarks or service marks at the national and international levels, provided that the domain names do satisfy all conditions to be duly registered and protected like the trademark and service marks.

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.

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 do I trademark my website?

1. Conduct a trademark search. Before you register a domain name, conduct a trademark search to find any trademarks that conflict with the name you want.
2. Fill out an application.
3. Protect your domain trademark.

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).

What is the difference between a trademark and domain name?

A domain name is registered so that there is an internet address. A trademark is registered to identify a product or service. A business name is registered to identify a business that wishes to trade other than with its own name. A company name is the name of a specific type of legal entity.

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.

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.

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.

Who legally owns a domain name?

The legal owner of a domain name is the person and/or organization listed as the domain's registrant or owner contact. Domains typically have four contacts: registrant/owner, admin, technical, and billing. These can be the same person or different people.

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.

Who actually owns domain names?

Until a domain name is claimed, nobody "owns" it. In reality, nobody really owns any domain name; they are leased for a period of time (generally 1 to 3 years) and require re-registration or extension for continued use of the domain.

Can you lose your domain name?

When a domain name is registered, the registrant acquires the right to use, renew, restore, or transfer the domain name. When the registrant no longer has those rights or someone else registers the domain name, the prior registrant may consider it a "lost 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.

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.

What is the highest price paid for a domain name?

• Business.com — $7.5 million.
• Diamond.com — $7.5 million.
• Beer.com — $7 million.
• Z.com — $6.8 million.
• iCloud.com — $6 million.
• Israel.com — $5.8 million.
• Casino.com — $5.5 million.
• Slots.com — $5.5 million.

What is the difference between a domain and a website?

A domain is the name of a website, a URL is how to find a website, and a website is what people see and interact with when they get there. In other words, when you buy a domain, you have purchased the name for your site, but you still need to build the website itself.

Is buying a domain name worth it?

Whether or not a premium domain name is worth the cost comes down to how much it will benefit your site. If you want to make money and attract as much traffic as possible, the right name can be worth the investment. However, for most sites, it's easy to find a regular domain name that works just as well.

Can you be forced to sell a domain name?

For the mark holder to force transfer of your domain name they would have to pursue an administrative proceeding via the UDRP or file a federal lawsuit under ACPA.

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good morning Angela lying Lots trademarking business law attorney here going live like I do every weekday to answer people's trademark law questions so if you hear say hi send me a comment or a love heart or a thumbs up let me know you're here today I'm answering a question somebody asked me a little while ago they said Angela can I register a trademark for my domain name and I thought about that and I gave a very lawyer-like answer and the answer is it depends it depends on what your domain name is why is that well recall a couple of weeks ago I talked about how there are certain there are certain phrases and words that do not make good trademarks and among those are descriptive terms and a lot of times people will try to come up with a domain name that is good for some purposes like SEO purposes right for search engine optimization let's say that you sell cars and your domain is by cars.com right so you have a website and on that website people can buy cars or get information about buying cars well it so happens that by cars.com in that context is merely descriptive of the goods and services that you're offering which is basically an opportunity to buy cars and a website where people can go to buy cars so in that context your website domain name by cars.com is going to be considered merely descriptive for that website where people can go and buy cars and it is likely going to get a merely descriptive refusal unless the trademark examiner asleep that day I have in the past seen some merely descriptive trademarks get registered but again I think the trademark examiner was sleeping that day so in that case you would not be able to get a trademark registration for that domain now let's say that Oh what else what's a good example let's say that you have a made-up trademark so you have the same website where people can buy cars but this time you're your domain name is giggles.com where people can go and have fun buying a car right and you want to register giggles.com for these goods a website where people can where consumers can get information about car prices online giggles.com and you want to register that for those goods and services that would be perfectly fine because giggles.com has absolutely nothing to do with anything generic anything descriptive about your website which is where people go and have fun buying cars maybe they have fun but giggles is merely suggestive of something fun so that's the analysis the calculus that you have to do when you're trying to figure out if you can or cannot register a trademark for your domain so if you have any more questions feel free to message this page or leave me a comment and I will be back tomorrow with more scintillating trademark information so come right back like my trademark trademark doctor dotnet page here on face book and you will be notified every single time I go live so you won't miss a thing thanks and have a great day

Thanks for your comment Nakesha Majure, have a nice day.
- Jorge Elbogen, 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 Kera your participation is very much appreciated
- Jorge Elbogen

About the author

Jorge Elbogen

I've studied complex systems at Bryn Athyn College in Bryn Athyn and I am an expert in lti system theory. I usually feel restless. My previous job was disk jockey I held this position for 4 years, I love talking about polo and zebra watching. Huge fan of Lucy Liu I practice horse racing and collect phone cards.