Should You Buy Trademarked Domain Names?

[Willox Perez]

When looking for available domains there are many that have the name of a famous company or famous person. Most of the time these names have great stats like high searches and advertisers. The only issue is that they are trademarked.

It can be so enticing to get one of these names and profit from the popularity of the company or person. I learned the hard way that this can result into some serious consequences. The last thing you want to do is invest into a trademark domain name only to have all the work and money disappear once the company or famous person find out you are profiting off their popularity and decide to shut you down.

I go into detail at OmarandWill .com on how I dealt directly with a company once they found out I was making money off a site that included their trademarked name.

#1 Have you guys had any experiences in buying Trademarked Domain Names?
#2 Would you still buy them after knowing the risks?

 

[Theo]

You can also play with matches next to an open gasoline container.

 

[Willox Perez]

You can also play with matches next to an open gasoline container.

Haha I like that comparison =-D At your own risk!

 

[Skinny]

I would stay far away from domains that have clear trademark issues.

The legal issues and penalties you could/would have to pay for infringing on a trademark are not worth the risk of whatever money you will make by doing so.

I think you would want to invest in names (and use them) in a way that reduces as much legal risk as you can.

Take care.

 

[Willox Perez]

I would stay far away from domains that have clear trademark issues.

The legal issues and penalties you could/would have to pay for infringing on a trademark are not worth the risk of whatever money you will make by doing so.

I think you would want to invest in names (and use them) in a way that reduces as much legal risk as you can.

Take care.

Great points! I agree it is just too risky and not worth it no matter how much you are expecting to make off it.
It is really best to invest your money into something with long term potential.

 

[pronstar]

Only yesterday I thought I had a killer hand reg when I dreamed up GoogleGenic-Com and it was available.
I was going to email Google and ask but read their section on trademarks and it clearly says "don't register things like gogglicious.com"
so I backed off. On advice I read, it's just not worth the hassle.

 

[angel69]

You should, if you wouldn't mind getting gangbanged by a bunch of wealthy IP lawyers hired by the claimants and the so-called "panelists" at WIPO lol. It's bad enough domainers often find themselves owning a name too close to a tm, or a version of the tm itself without even knowing it even when they try to avoid tm problems all the time. And did you know just owning a domain that's a tm exposes you to a $100K fine even if you're not using it, and even if you did not KNOW that tm existed ? So never mind losing at WIPO or NAF, they can try to get you thru a civil lawsuit

 

[Willox Perez]

Only yesterday I thought I had a killer hand reg when I dreamed up GoogleGenic-Com and it was available.
I was going to email Google and ask but read their section on trademarks and it clearly says "don't register things like gogglicious.com"
so I backed off. On advice I read, it's just not worth the hassle.

That is definitely the right move, great going on doing your due diligence before pulling the trigger. I know in the past I made the mistake of purchasing the name without knowing any better such a waste.
 

You should, if you wouldn't mind getting gangbanged by a bunch of wealthy IP lawyers hired by the claimants and the so-called "panelists" at WIPO lol. It's bad enough domainers often find themselves owning a name too close to a tm, or a version of the tm itself without even knowing it even when they try to avoid tm problems all the time. And did you know just owning a domain that's a tm exposes you to a $100K fine even if you're not using it, and even if you did not KNOW that tm existed ? So never mind losing at WIPO or NAF, they can try to get you thru a civil lawsuit

Indeed thanks for sharing some of the technical consequences. It is definitely good to know because it will help keep people from making these silly mistakes in purchasing these types of names.