How to register a domain name as a trademark [Expert Advice]

Last updated : Aug 7, 2022

Do I need a trademark if I own the domain?

Domain name trademarks protect against infringements on your domain name. Trademarks are essential for online businesses. They should be used for branded domain names.

How much does it cost to trademark a domain?

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.

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 protect my domain name?

Ask your registrar to put a transfer lock on your domain name. You can request that your registrar put a transfer lock on your domain name. Putting this lock on your domain name is not a fail-safe way to guard against unauthorized transfer or hijacking of your domain name, but it could be another layer of security.

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.

Can you get sued if someone trademarks your domain name?

The Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act of 1999 authorizes a cybersquatting victim to file a federal lawsuit to regain a domain name or sue for financial compensation. Under the act, registering, selling or using a domain name with the intent to profit from someone else's good name is considered cybersquatting.

Can you get sued for domain name?

Using a domain name very similar to an existing one may result in trademark infringement -- the violation of someone's trademark rights. If you infringe someone's trademark, a court might order you to stop using the name and pay money damages to the other domain name owner.

Do trademarks cover domain names?

Registering your domain name or incorporating your business does not give you any trademark rights.

Can someone steal my domain name?

You can get hacked Your domain name is registered with a registrar company, and your account on their website controls your ownership. Hackers steal domain names by obtaining access to this account, or access the e-mail address that “reset password” forms on their websites send emails to.

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?

You can lose a trademark in a variety of ways. You can lose a mark through abandonment. A mark will be considered abandoned if you stop using it for three consecutive years and you have no intent to resume its use. You can also lose a mark through improper licensing or improper assignment.

What do I do if someone buys my 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.

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.

Does a domain name 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 Cannot be registered as a trademark?

Trademarks which contain or comprise matter likely to hurt the religious susceptibilities of any class or sections of citizens of India. Trademarks which contain or comprise scandalous or obscene matter. If the usage of the trademark is prohibited under the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950.

Does GoDaddy steal domain names?

So, did GoDaddy really steal this domain name? The answer is no. Let me tell you why. You can determine who owns a domain name by doing a “whois lookup”, which is basically a phone book for domain names.

Who legally owns a website?

Because copyright law states that the creator of the website's design and content automatically becomes the legal owner of said assets. What you own outright is the text you give them (if any) and photos you took.

Should your domain name match your company name?

Your business name and domain do not need to match. The primary difference between business and domain names is that a business name is used for identification, branding and legal purposes, whereas a domain name is a digital website address.

Can you trademark just a name?

You can register your brand name with the USPTO to protect your intellectual property from misuse. It is not immediately necessary to secure a trademark, though it could benefit your brand.

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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 Alberta Boynes, have a nice day.
- Glory Schader, Staff Member

Rudy Triana at Smeal and Korra if someone is using my trademarked name in their domain as those domain name what is the best way to make them stop a monitoring medica the daughter of trademark factory and here's my answer to Rudy's question brand that's trademarked and you found somebody registered a domain name that's similar to your trademark or identical to your trademark the first thing you need to figure out is what are those people doing with the domain name because the trademark by itself doesn't necessarily mean that nobody else can use the same name because the trademark is not a universal one awfully over the brain it's only about the brand in connection with particular products and services that you claim your trademark for so that's why sometimes the same brand can be owned by several completely separate entities they have nothing to do with one another a blue shield is a good example right there's a company that offers medical insurance services under that brand and there's also a welding company so just because you only blue shield or medical insurance doesn't mean that the welding company can't own the domain name that's gonna say who shield something.com or dr. dot org or that whatever so first thing you want to check is do the other people have any legitimate interest in that domain name other than trying to extort money from you or cause me grief because you can't reflect your trademark mean to send me your opponents and services so if they have illegitimate their main aim of our legitimate website built on that domain name that offers products and services that have nothing to do with what you offer that could be an issue but if they are selling something that's exactly what your industries then you are good to go to enforce your trademark and if there's nothing from that website maybe just a parking page then it's it's a totally different strategy but it's also a good thing so the only bad scenario here is if they have a website that offers products and services that nothing to do with what you register you trade not for know if they are competing with you and you have already some trademark then the first step is to send them any demand letter and say I got a trademark you got anime name and you got a website that offers products and services that are so similar to mine that I believe its trademark infringement stop this immediately and transfer the domain name back to me or else and if they don't respond to your demand letter then there's a procedure called uniform domain name resolution policy you DRD and what it does it allows you without going to court without having to spend tens of thousands of dollars on lawyers and litigation it's an administrative procedure that allows you to file a claim and as a owner on a registered trademark you can say I have the trademark rights in this name and these guys and no legitimate interest in that name for them to own the domain name even run a website that competes with mine okay and that's that's the way to do it now with the situation when there is no active use it's tricky because you DRB has different decisions big festive whether you can or cannot request the transfer about the meaning if there is no use some analysts of respondent for the yes yes we can do that because there can't there can be no legitimate use of that domain name when they start a website on it would infringe automatically so they they just thought forced the transfer in some cases they say no really there is no bad faith in their registration of the domaine name necessarily let's wait and see what they do with it and if you are not sure which way it's going to be you can also write letter and I've done this or many of our clients basically letter is going to say something like this we know that you own this domain maybe you even registered it before we registered our trademark so we can't go after you but notice you can't sell those domain name to anybody other that's because as soon as you transfer it to somebody else we'll be able to go after them without registered trademark so nobody's really gonna buy from you and if they do open after them and then they're gonna go after you for all the money that you took from them so really you're in the market of one we are your market we own the trademark we want you to be reasonable and give us a good deal on getting that domain name from you so to me this short the best way to make them stop is send them a demand letter and then if they don't react hit them with AUD RP claim that would hopefully effect the transfer of that domain name back to you the whole process if you do it on your own is going to cost you about $1,500 that's the fee for the World Intellectual Property Organization they've got their own panel they've got their own tribunal that solves these disputes and that's where I would start and if that doesn't work and then of course the next step is to take them to court but I'm sure you knew that already and it's definitely not the best way to start the conversation about getting your domain name back now I hope this answers Rudy's question and if you Father useful make sure you subscribe now and if you have more questions for me these posted in the comment below and I read all the questions I read all the comments and if it's a question that hasn't been answered before I'll be happy to create a video just like this one and go over it with you until then I'll see you in the next video

Thanks Mariano your participation is very much appreciated
- Glory Schader

About the author

Glory Schader

I've studied spirituality at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas and I am an expert in biomechanics. I usually feel indifferent. My previous job was nuclear fuels research engineer I held this position for 12 years, I love talking about road biking and composting. Huge fan of David Letterman I practice still rings and collect fabric and textiles.