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Topic: Can I get the Domain if I register the trademark? (Read 514 times) |
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Re: Can I get the Domain if I register the tradema
« Reply #5 on: Jul 5th, 2006, 3:42pm » |
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on Jul 5th, 2006, 3:03pm, Isaac wrote:
Is there a reason the current owner should not be allowed to keep the domain other than the fact that you want it?
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-If I use the trademark name in commerce which is same as the domain name owned by someone else, is there any reason why I should not have rights to the domain if no one else is using the trademark name in commerce and I was the first to start using the trademark name in commerce?
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Re: Can I get the Domain if I register the tradema
« Reply #6 on: Jul 5th, 2006, 3:47pm » |
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on Jul 5th, 2006, 3:23pm, JSonnabend wrote:For trademark purposes, "Powervision" and "Power Vision" are the same mark.
I think you're operating under a fundamental misconception of how trademarks "work". You don't register a trademark to establish trademark rights, you establish trademark rights through use and only through use. In fact, the Trademark Office is not allowed to issue a TM registration unless and until you start using the mark in commerce.
Also, as a side note, a company name is not a trademark in and of itself. Only those company names that are also used as trademarks are actually trademarks. Delta and UAL come to mind as examples of each.
- Jeff |
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Excellent point Jeff. I don't want to purchase a domain name from someone for a huge sum where another company that has been using that name as a trademark for years could try to snag it. I want to purchase the domain knowing that when I start to "use" it in commerce and then "apply" for a trademark, that I will be protected. That is why I brought powervision and powervision.com. So essentially, powervision.com would be a unique trademark versus power vision (or powervision) by itself?
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JSonnabend
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Re: Can I get the Domain if I register the tradema
« Reply #7 on: Jul 5th, 2006, 4:17pm » |
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Quote:| So essentially, powervision.com would be a unique trademark versus power vision (or powervision) by itself? |
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No, the ".com" is ignored for TM purposes. "Power Vision", "Powervision" and "Powervision.com" are all the same as far as TM's are concerned.
Quote:| -If I use the trademark name in commerce which is same as the domain name owned by someone else, is there any reason why I should not have rights to the domain if no one else is using the trademark name in commerce and I was the first to start using the trademark name in commerce? |
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Because TM rights aren't the only type of rights that exist, perhaps? You're not using your car as a TM, but you still have property rights in it, right? If I want to buy the domain "Fzooi.com" and use it to wax eloquently about turtles, why should a startup "Fzooi Wax" be able to take it from me? They shouldn't, as property rights (even in domain names) can and do exist outside of the TM realm.
- Jeff
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SonnabendLaw
Intellectual Property and Technology Law
Brooklyn, USA
718-832-8810
JSonnabend@SonnabendLaw.com
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Re: Can I get the Domain if I register the tradema
« Reply #8 on: Jul 6th, 2006, 9:49am » |
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Jeff,
Brilliant response. I appreciate your timely feedback. I'm not sure why you respond to this forum, for pleasure or for more clients, but you are definitely building trust with me and if I decide to move forward, I'll consider your services if available.
To sum up: Over the last 15 years, about 7 companies have trademarked "Power Vision" (ficticious name) for various purposes in commerce. Interestingly, although they use the trademark for different purposes and each trademark looks different, they are under the same general category of products/services (for example, I would consider Health a general category versus Cardio Kickboxing a more specific category under the general category Health). About 10 years ago, a very forward thinking person, bought the www.powervision.com. He doesn't use it for anything.
-If I buy www.powervision.com from him, do any of the other 7 companies have any way of stripping the property rights from me even if I decide not to use the domain for any specific purpose?
-If I buy www.powervision.com from him and decide to use the name in commerce under the same general category as the other 7 companies are using it in their trademarks (but my specific category would be different (using the Health versus Cardio Kickboxing example of general versus specific category comparison), am I free from any recourse?
-If I do the above and trademark the use of my domain name in commerce, am I free from recourse?
Did I explain myself clearly enough?
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JSonnabend
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Re: Can I get the Domain if I register the tradema
« Reply #9 on: Jul 6th, 2006, 1:36pm » |
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First, you can't "trademark" the use of your domain name. You can seek to register any trademark in the domain name you may have.
Second, if your use of the mark in question is likely to cause confusion between you and one or more of the other seven users of the mark, then you're likely infringing their trademark rights.
- Jeff
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SonnabendLaw
Intellectual Property and Technology Law
Brooklyn, USA
718-832-8810
JSonnabend@SonnabendLaw.com
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