Will I Get Sued If I Get A Branded Domain?
islandman1010
Elite Member
- May 10, 2008
- 2,221
- 587
Not a good idea. Unless you can hide who you are, how you paid for it, and find a host that will let you use their servers then its a bad idea.
whiteblackseo
Elite Member
- Apr 11, 2015
- 2,995
- 1,162
It always depends how they will react to it. I'd be safe and not register it.
652I8W0pfAWYP3g
Newbie
- Feb 2, 2016
- 37
- 11
It's not a good idea but it obviously depends on the company and what they are willing to do.
This reminds me of a few months ago where someone bought the domain google.com
This reminds me of a few months ago where someone bought the domain google.com
There are tricky ways to use it. If you make it look like you aren't profiting off it, they can't do anything.
A tricky way would be if you could easily build links to the site and make it an authority, then you could use it to link to other sites and pass the juice.
A tricky way would be if you could easily build links to the site and make it an authority, then you could use it to link to other sites and pass the juice.
islandman1010
Elite Member
- May 10, 2008
- 2,221
- 587
Probably the worst piece of advice today. Of course they can do anything they want to if you infringe their trademarked brand name.
Oh really? That's why www.paypalsucks.com has been up for 15 years? Thanks for the great insight bro!
The Mentalist
Power Member
- May 8, 2013
- 740
- 272
It all depends on how the company that has the trademark approaches you.
The cease and desist treatment is common, but you have to determine whether or not it is a shallow or serious threat they are making. If they are a big company they may not even bother with any steps that lead to legal action, and instead they may appeal directly to ICANN. I think most large companies do this for copyright infringement they want dealt with immediately. They pay $1,000-$2,000 and in 10 days the domain is transferred to them, much cheaper and easier than a lawsuit.
The problem is you'd probably only register the domain to make money off of it in a misleading way. That is more likely to warrant real legal action.
If a company does not actively fight infringement on their copyright they can potentially lose it. So that's why you get all of the shallow threat cease and desist emails and stuff. They have to be able to prove they are "actively protecting" their copyright. They probably don't even really care if you keep owning ihategoogle.com or whatever, because that isn't misleading anyone, now if you own google.co, that's a different story.
Unless this is going to be making you a millionaire, I would just forget your idea. If you're dead set on it I would start by researching how the company you are trying to imitate deals with copyright infringement.
The cease and desist treatment is common, but you have to determine whether or not it is a shallow or serious threat they are making. If they are a big company they may not even bother with any steps that lead to legal action, and instead they may appeal directly to ICANN. I think most large companies do this for copyright infringement they want dealt with immediately. They pay $1,000-$2,000 and in 10 days the domain is transferred to them, much cheaper and easier than a lawsuit.
The problem is you'd probably only register the domain to make money off of it in a misleading way. That is more likely to warrant real legal action.
If a company does not actively fight infringement on their copyright they can potentially lose it. So that's why you get all of the shallow threat cease and desist emails and stuff. They have to be able to prove they are "actively protecting" their copyright. They probably don't even really care if you keep owning ihategoogle.com or whatever, because that isn't misleading anyone, now if you own google.co, that's a different story.
Unless this is going to be making you a millionaire, I would just forget your idea. If you're dead set on it I would start by researching how the company you are trying to imitate deals with copyright infringement.
islandman1010
Elite Member
- May 10, 2008
- 2,221
- 587
I said they can do anything they want so what's your point? Paypal have chosen not too, quite simple really. My point was as you have no idea on the company he is talking about then you have zero knowledge if they will go after him for making a profit on the name or not. Because someone may not make a profit on a copied name does not in copyright law stop the legal process if they started it. So it was bad advice.
And my point was you were wrong! Of course paypal would have tried to take it down, would you want that up about your business? lol It's okay to admit you were wrong and have no idea.
islandman1010
Elite Member
- May 10, 2008
- 2,221
- 587
lol. You base your case advice to the OP on 1 website you found that wasn't taken down. Do you have a law degree to come up with that? Made my day and thanks for the laugh.
And your advice is based on pretending you have a clue. I've consulted lawyers on this when I owned over 300 domains, half of which were product names. It's easy, if you don't know, just don't give advice, stops misinformation from being spread around.
