How Do I Trademark a Domain Name?
How Do I Trademark a Domain Name?
Comprehensive research consists of looking at marks that are similar in Sound, Appearance or Meaning in the pending & registered Federal AND State trademark files as well as the US National Common-Law files.
There is one big caveat when it comes to trademarking domain names and it has to do with usage of the domain name.
"A mark composed of a domain name is registrable as a trademark or service mark only if it functions as a source identifier," so says the USPTO. Okay, but what does that mean?
Basically, as long as your domain name is the name of your product and/or service, it's likely registrable. Let's look at some examples to illustrate this:
Example: The online seller, Amazon.com, has a Federal trademark registration for Amazon.com because it's the name under which they conduct business. Take a look at their site and you will see that the name is always shown with the .com extension.
Example: The insurance provider, Esurance, has a Federal trademark registration for Esurance because it's the name under which they conduct business. Take a look at their site and you will see that the name is always shown without the .com extension.
It really comes down to what you're putting out there in the marketplace. Are your customers going to come to know you & your products/services by your domain name? When you answer the phone, will you be saying XYZ.com? Answer these questions and it will become easier to understand what the next step to take is in trademarking your domain name.
How Do I Trademark a Domain Name - To learn more about this author, visit Shannon Moore's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
The process for filing for a trademark for a domain name is similar to any other name in terms of comprehensive research and analysis being a necessity.
Comprehensive research consists of looking at marks that are similar in Sound, Appearance or Meaning in the pending & registered Federal AND State trademark files as well as the US National Common-Law files.
There is one big caveat when it comes to trademarking domain names and it has to do with usage of the domain name.
"A mark composed of a domain name is registrable as a trademark or service mark only if it functions as a source identifier," so says the USPTO. Okay, but what does that mean?
Basically, as long as your domain name is the name of your product and/or service, it's likely registrable. Let's look at some examples to illustrate this:
Example: The online seller, Amazon.com, has a Federal trademark registration for Amazon.com because it's the name under which they conduct business. Take a look at their site and you will see that the name is always shown with the .com extension.
Example: The insurance provider, Esurance, has a Federal trademark registration for Esurance because it's the name under which they conduct business. Take a look at their site and you will see that the name is always shown without the .com extension.
It really comes down to what you're putting out there in the marketplace. Are your customers going to come to know you & your products/services by your domain name? When you answer the phone, will you be saying XYZ.com? Answer these questions and it will become easier to understand what the next step to take is in trademarking your domain name.
How Do I Trademark a Domain Name - To learn more about this author, visit Shannon Moore's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. |
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Shannon's articles
 |
|
TradeMark Express - Shannon Moore is the General Manager for Trademark Express. Since 1992, we've helped clients with their trademark needs. This includes free general trademark consultations, comprehensive research and expert analysis of complex trade name searches & trademark application preparation and filing.
|
|
 |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Venture Capital Guide 4 QuickBooks Blunders Joint Ventures ebook Business / Personal Plan Business Success By Design |
|
 | ||
 |
Email The Reporters
Press Release Builder | |
 |
The Top 10 Guy Kawasaki Posts
Best Posts for Entrepreneurs | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||