Conflict of interest?

[Lee Black]

Hi,

I've got a few domains in my sight which I want to develop specifically to their chosen market.

One of the unregistered domains, for example, has a local exact search volume of 49,500 and a global exact search volume of 450,000 pcm respectively which as you can see is very healthy.

What my concern is and why I'm probably so hesitant is that I don't want to step on anyone's toes or cause a conflict of interest even though these are not my intentions.

I almost have a hunch that its unregistered because of the above.. probably some developer has looked at it and said there's no point or why bother? etc etc

Lets say for example I'm talking about Argos and I registered ArgosStore.co.uk with a view to developing an affiliate scheme around argos products etc.

Can Argos shut me down and/or claim the domain as I'm using the name "Argos" in it even though its for their benefit?

If this is the case how does one go about finding out if your in the clear before committing to purchasing & developing a niche domain or am I better to just choose a domain that doesn't contain any conflicting words/names and compromise the search volume? Which in all honesty will just prove pointless for me.

Your help or views is much appreciated.

Cheers

 

[retired_member13]

Lets say for example I'm talking about Argos and I registered ArgosStore.co.uk with a view to developing an affiliate scheme around argos products etc.

Can Argos shut me down and/or claim the domain as I'm using the name "Argos" in it even though its for their benefit?

Registering a name containing "Argos" or "HMV" or "T-Mobile" or anyone's else's brand or trademark and then trying to profit from it is only going to get you into legal trouble.

Argos could indeed shut you down, claim the domain, and they could also sue you for substantial damages on top of that, and there's very little that you could do to defend yourself.

Passing yourself off as being part of or connected to Argos is not in their interests or to their benefit, and brand owners generally do not take kindly to people infringing on their copyrights, especially if you're trying to make money off them by this type of activity.

Stay well clear would be my advice.

 

[Lee Black]

I see.

So in other words if it has a trademark - leave it alone?

I appreciate Argos is a super brand so that's probably an extreme example.

The only other example I had was for instance if I was selling spurs tickets (leave me alone - I'm a spurs fan ) and registered the domain "spurstickets.co.uk" again cause I'm using "spurs" that's a no no? Id be better off having footballtickets.co.uk and have sub domain such as spurs.footballtickets.co.uk yeah?!

 

[wb]

The only other example I had was for instance if I was selling spurs tickets (leave me alone - I'm a spurs fan ) and registered the domain "spurstickets.co.uk" again cause I'm using "spurs" that's a no no? Id be better off having footballtickets.co.uk and have sub domain such as spurs.footballtickets.co.uk yeah?!

Correct, you can use brand names in subdomains or folder names as far as I'm aware but not in the actual domain itself. Purchasing a trademark domain would certainly not be worth the risk - if you are ever unsure you can check for registered trademarks online at the link below (although it's important to remember also that a trademark doesn't need to be registered for a 'passing off' claim to be made).

Intellectual Property Office - Welcome to the Intellectual Property Office

 

[accelerator]

So in other words if it has a trademark - leave it alone?

As a general rule, my advice would be don't use other people's trademarks in domains, it's a bad idea.

Strictly speaking a trademark is registered for specific classes of business, so technically you might be able to put a domain containing someone else's trademark into use if you did not conflict with products/services to which their trademark relates. Personally though, I don't bother with trademark domains, I stick to generics or create my own trademarks, and that would be my advice to others.

The only other example I had was for instance if I was selling spurs tickets (leave me alone - I'm a spurs fan ) and registered the domain "spurstickets.co.uk" again cause I'm using "spurs" that's a no no? Id be better off having footballtickets.co.uk and have sub domain such as spurs.footballtickets.co.uk yeah?!

spurstickets.co.uk would be a big no no. The trademark you would be violating is at:

Intellectual Property Office - Results

It specifically mentions tickets. They own the domain anyway, but let's say if you could reg it, you would definitely lose if they took action against you.

Yes, it is much better using generic domains such as footballtickets.co.uk and have sub domains such as spurs.footballtickets.co.uk, or you could use the club name in the folder or file name. Actually, footballtickets.co.uk is quite a nice domain and I think someone was trying to sell it on here recently.

Hope that helps.

Rgds

 

[Edwin]

The big clue should be the presence of a trademark in combination with a high number of exact searches. That should suggest that A) people have reviewed the domain before (very few high-search keyphrases escape notice entirely) and B) have decided to pass on it because of the TM issues.

 

[buttontop]

i think tho with something like xboxgamestore.co.uk, altho it is using a trademark, microsoft would be less likely to go after you as it is selling a product they dont sell directly themselves. - if microsoft goes onto your site and sees lots of crosses over there products they will also shut you down quicker.

where as if you did argosstore.co.uk they would go after you quicker becuase while your a affi of them they make less money than had the user gone direct to the argos.co.uk store. - i also see getting ranked above argos as a problem myself but your seo might be very good.

in short i think it depends on if the tm is a store that sells direct or not and if it is a brand name like lg plasma's then im sure that lg might tern a blind eye at it. .....tho i might be wrong

 

[retired_member12]

i think tho with something like xboxgamestore.co.uk, altho it is using a trademark, microsoft would be less likely to go after you....tho i might be wrong

I'd say you are wrong! The term 'xbox' leads the domain name, and the user would stand to gain by its use, pure & simple. See this WIPO decision here relating to similarly constructed domain names (and these were only typo's too):

WIPO Domain Name Decision: D2003-0501

To my mind you can never defend the deliberate use of someone elses trademark in a domain name.

 

[aZooZa]

The only exceptions are 'commentary' sites, like paypalsucks.com and rolexforums.com - two huge TMs.

 

[Edwin]

The only exceptions are 'commentary' sites, like paypalsucks.com and rolexforums.com - two huge TMs.

And those frequently still face legal action - it's just that they're more likely to win. Of course, you can't then advertise the product you're trashing on them, so commercially they're a bust...

 

[retired_member12]

I agree, I should have clarified, I was referring to commercial use buttontop, non-commercials like the examples azooza highlights should be on safer ground!

 

[Lee Black]

So a trademark is pretty much across the board i.e inclusive of domains too.
Unless your intentions are not of a financial gain?

 

[accelerator]

So a trademark is pretty much across the board i.e inclusive of domains too.
Unless your intentions are not of a financial gain?

A trademark protects a given name being used for a particular type of business, and yes, it will cover domains being put to use in that type of business too. Trademarks are specific to a particular class or service of business, and they will carry a lot of weight in domain disputes. If you as a non-trademark holder put the domain into use and contravened the classes of the trademark, most of the time you wouldn't have a chance in any dispute.

Rgds

 

[Edwin]

So a trademark is pretty much across the board i.e inclusive of domains too.
Unless your intentions are not of a financial gain?

It's not even "financial gain". It seems that genuine protest sites (*sucks.com and the like) have been granted certain immunities (especially in the US with various free speech laws). But building a site on a domain incorporating a trademark on the subject of that trademark is genuinely a no-no even if you're not monetising it. And building a site on a domain incorporating a well-known trademark is a no-no for ANY reason (except genuine protest, but expect a letter from their lawyers sooner rather than later anyway)