About a domain I just purchased?

[inason]

I was looking through a couple of domain whois's today searching for some catchy domain names and I typed in "uni" well, I didn't really find anything until I typed in my own "uni" words. All I wanted to know is if I would be infringing on any trademarks if I used a "uni" name. I bought unisee.com just so everyone knows what I am talking about when I say "uni" name.

Izaak,

 

[jberryhill]

Unisys?

Union Carbide?

Universal Studios?

University of California?

United Airlines?

Univision?

Any of those ring a bell?

 

[inason]

I was just wondering if I was infringing on any rights if I were to use the name?

A straight forward answer would have been more useful jberryhill.

 

[beatz]

Xcuse me, Mr. Berryhill,

but don't you think to link a name like unisee.com to a potential TM infrigment with Universal Studios is a bit over the top?
Same goes for most TM's listed above.

 

[jberryhill]

For every question, there is a straight forward, simple, and wildly incorrect answer.

To use this as an example....

Did you mean "unisee" as an *example* of what you mean by a "'uni' word"?

Or did you mean that you actually registered the single domain name unisee.com, and you want to know if the term "unisee", and that term alone, is claimed as a trademark somewhere on the planet?

Or did you want to know as a general principle whether "uni" words are, or are not, trademarks?

One of the problems of "straightforward answers" is that they assume a straightforward question.

Let's take a look at the question:

---
"All I wanted to know is if I would be infringing on any trademarks if I used a "uni" name. "
---

All you want to know is if you would infringe a trademark if you used a "uni" name, and you define "a uni name" as a name that begins with "uni", by giving an example of "unisee.com" just so we know what you are talking about.

Is that the question?

Because if that is the question, then the answer is there are plenty of trademarks that have "uni" in them. Which was the point of the answer above.

The United States Patent and Trademark Database returns something on the order of 1,912 records of pending, registered, cancelled and abandoned applications for words with "uni" in them. How many of them sound or look like "unisee" or might be a basis for someone to make a claim of confusing similarity? Is that the question?

Now, that's just the United States. There are lots of countries in the world, and there are lots of potential common law claims. You want that "straightforward answer" when?

Are you planning on using it for a webpage? In English? If you're flexible on that, then you can make a page about the Unisee in Bremen, Germany, which seems like a great place to hang out:

http://www.vc.org/deutschland/bremen/bremen/ansichten/alpha/unisee_2.html

http://ici.cegep-ste-foy.qc.ca/departements/allemand/Etudiants/H96/LieuxPers/LP41.4T.F.html

Questions like this are *not* simple questions, and you should be very cautious about people who seem to have all of the simple answers to the "simple questions".

 

[beatz]

Maybe the point is questions like these can't/shouldn't be answered in a forum but only in a one-to-one conversation - but then i don't know what this section's purpose is.
Mr. Berryhill, we all do know every situation is a unique one, we do know it's not black/white, we do know it's important to be as specific as can be so no need to show us all the time how dumb we are when it comes to legal matters by repeatedly mentioning how many questions have remained unanswered so far.
It should be obvious that certain matters and circumstances can not be explained or be discussed within a single initial post - as this is the internet and we have to TYPE things instead of having a vocal conversation so of course it's just not possible to cover all aspects in 1 or 2 posts.If that wasn't the case, personal consulting wouldn't be neccessary.

 

[inason]

jberryhill,

I saw that you maybe an Attorney, but I thought your reply was rather snobby, with all due respect. You do not have to be totally PC with your answers, all I wanted was a basic yes or no maybe following in a question to complete the issue.

Izaak,

 

[beatz]

Well i understand it's not that easy - yes or no.
Still no need to repeat that very fact again and again.

 

[TexasFilly]

UNI = You and I

"You and I see"

great naming for a cam / dating site.

Goodluck.

 

[GiantDomains]

Originally posted by TexasFilly
UNI = You and I

"You and I see"


Goodluck.

uni means "you and I"? I thinks its better served as its definition, uni means "one"... trying to get people to think it means "you and I" would be wasted marketing money.

 

[ShaunP]

geeze ... I didn't know jberryhill is on paid retainer here. If thats the case then our course he should have explored every possibility of inason's "vague" question and then replied in paragraph form to each possibily that could arise, and the possible penalties and ramifications of each. That's the least he should have done ... right?


... some of you guys amaze me.

 

[beatz]

It's the other way around.
You just CAN'T put all details on the table at once and know everything at once that could be important - especially not in a forum.
Like, even in "real world" most clients don't know what is important right from the start - afterall, that's why they consult a lawyer.
I mean, hey if it's not possible to give legal advice on the internet then just let it be - better than to have to listen to these kind of remarks "you don't even know what is important when consulting a lawyer"-style.

 

[jberryhill]

Just in case you missed it in my prior post... it is a geographic term pertaining to a lake in Germany...

And, okay, so maybe *I* wouldn't necessarily hang out there:

http://www.gaynordwest.de/bremen/crusing.html

http://bremen.gay-web.de/db/sex.html#unisee1

But, yes, it would be a great domain name for a website about that apparently popular German gay cruising location, and using it for that purpose would be readily defensible.

If you weren't planning on using the domain name, then perhaps there are facts about your personal history that would suggest you were motivated to register the name of a gay cruising spot, in the event your registration was challenged by a trademark owner.

"Maybe the point is questions like these can't/shouldn't be answered in a forum but only in a one-to-one conversation - but then i don't know what this section's purpose is."

Public forums are useful for discussions *about* legal issues. Using them to obtain specific legal advice is extremely unwise for a variety of reasons. Looking for a "basic yes or no" is useless.

What appear to be "simple questions" do provide a useful jumping off point for explaining why they are not "simple", or unambiguous, and why one might want to dig deeper into an issue than considering random binary responses from pseudonymous posters.

I think someone elsewhere in the forum mentioned that I have a tendency toward sarcasm.... I've heard that rumor before.

 

[inason]

Yeah, maybe I should have done a search on the meaning of the name before I bought it, because my intent certainly was not to promote a gay German cruise locaction. Oh well better luck next time...

 

[jberryhill]

I dunno, at least its a good thing you didn't register it with Joker, or else we'd be arguing about whether you were violating the law for the protection of children in public domain forums.

heh.....

 

[beatz]

BTW - UniSee does NOT mean nor is related to anything gayish - it's not even a firm term.
It's rather a pretty loose describing term of the lake which might go by a completely different name in reality.
Actually all it means is " The lake at the university"

 

[jberryhill]

"Actually all it means is 'The lake at the university' "

...where we like to go swimming

...with a bunch of naked guys

 

[beatz]

 

[WildCard]

Maybe it's because I tend to be sarcastic - but I don't see anything overly sarcastic about John's posts.

John, your posts are informative and at times pretty funny. Don't change a thing, don't listen to the people that feel your answer isn't polite enough.

-WC-

 

[Fearless]

Good thing John has thick skin.