Trademark & Domain questions
 

question 1) if a site owner doesn't trademark his site's name can he come after you if you register and run a site with a similar name? example - if GFY.com hasn't been trademarked can I legally register and run a site named GFYChat.com?

question 2) if somebody HAS trademarked their domain name but abandons the trademark can you register the abandoned trademark and go after the person/company who abandoned the trademark?

thanks - the first one is important to me - the second one i was just curious about because I saw that a very famous adult domain trademark had been abandoned by its owner.

you can always check with an IP lawyer, but in my layman opinion - Yes a site owner can come after you even if they have not filed a tm. service marks and the like vest over time with use regardless of whether or not they are filed.

question 2- i think that depends if the mark is live or dead. technically though a mark ceases if the owner or assignee officially goes out of business and the mark is unused. need a lawyer for a better answer on question 2 fyi.

Buy the name and sell it on ebay.

Yes, as a "common law" mark ... but will have limited recourse in regards to protecting it compared to a federally registered mark.

Such statuses as "canceled", "expired", "abandoned", etc refer to the registration NOT the actual mark itself...

One can NOT rely on such statuses alone in determining whether a mark is still in force or not; in use somewhere in commerce as a common law mark and/or registered in one or more states (yes, many, if not all?, have their own TM registries), in other countries, etc.

On a related note, it's sometimes possible for an "abandoned" mark to be "revived" at some later date; statuses that appear absolute are not. TM law is among the most arcane there is.

With all that said, if you see a domain that is generic in nature that you like and is available, registering it may work ok fine - just because a TM(s) exists anywhere doesn't preclude one from legitimately registering the domain...

Owning a mark for something does NOT automatically give that TM owner rights to the similar-looking domain...

And conversely, a domain owner, despite the existance of similar registered and/or common law mark(s) STILL MAY have legitimate rights to register / keep / utlilize the domain to some degree, if not completely.

Hope this helps.

Ron

two good answers - thanks guys :thumbsup