# Are "dot-com" website names trademarked? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 11, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672 "2012-12-11T02:42:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/1 "2012-12-11T02:42:04Z")
I am trying to find out if, once a “dot-com” domain name has been granted, it is trademarked, perhaps by default? [FYI: This question is couched within the realm of US laws, regs, policies, etc. including and State registered marks and common law marks.] Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/2 "2012-12-11T03:02:02Z")
If you’re asking whether a trademarked is automatically granted when a domain name is registered, the answer is no. One would have to register the trademark separately. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/3 "2012-12-11T12:32:26Z")
If a company is already a trademark, that would prevent competitors from using a .com version: if you wanted to set up a restaurant site named “[Mcconalds.net](http://Mcconalds.net),” you could be sure that McDonald’s would go after you and win any trademark violation suit. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/4 "2012-12-11T14:33:32Z")
One can also claim a trademark without having formally registered it. This approach is harder and not as rewarding, but I would imagine that ownership of a domain name would help in your claim. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/5 "2012-12-11T15:52:36Z")
My understanding from researching a servicemark for my company. Using a trademark offers some protection but does not prevent another person in another area from using it as well. If someone else registers the trademark and you can document your prior usage then you can continue to use the trademark but you are limited to only using it in your area. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/6 "2012-12-11T15:59:31Z")
Trademarks aren’t “granted.” They’re earned through use in commerce. You can register a trademark at the federal level (and often at the state level too), but registration is not a substitute for use in commerce. If you don’t use the mark in commerce, your registration is invalid. Registering a domain name does not get you trademark rights. Neither does using that domain name for a web site. You have to use that domain name in commerce for you to have trademark rights in it. So the answer to the OP’s questions is: No, when you get a domain name, you don’t get trademark rights by default. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/7 "2012-12-11T23:03:16Z")
How is “used in commerce” defined? I would have thought that paying a company to register the domain, and then hosting some content at the domain, would constitute “commerce”. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/8 "2012-12-11T23:16:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > How is “used in commerce” defined? I would have thought that paying a company to register the domain, and then hosting some content at the domain, would constitute “commerce”. It depends on the content of the site. I’m sure that lawyers and courts have split all kinds of hairs about the finer details, but here’s an example: If you have a domain name registered for a personal blog that you use to whine about your life every day, then there’s no commerce going on. Use that same domain name to sell subscriptions, advertising, T-shirts, etc. and now you have the element of commerce. Selling advertising would give you a service mark claim. Selling T-shirts (a physical product) would give you a trade mark claim. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/9 "2012-12-11T23:55:20Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > It depends on the content of the site. I’m sure that lawyers and courts have split all kinds of hairs about the finer details, but here’s an example: If you have a domain name registered for a personal blog that you use to whine about your life every day, then there’s no commerce going on. Use that same domain name to sell subscriptions, advertising, T-shirts, etc. and now you have the element of commerce. Selling advertising would give you a service mark claim. Selling T-shirts (a physical product) would give you a trade mark claim. You might not have a trademark on the super clever and creative title of your non-commercial blog… but would you have a copyright on it? What would be the difference in that case? ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/10 "2012-12-12T01:08:39Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > You might not have a trademark on the super clever and creative title of your non-commercial blog… but would you have a copyright on it? What would be the difference in that case? Copyright is about content while trademark is more about names. So the copyright protection is good for the entries of the blog, but not so much for the name. As a non-lawyer, that’s about as technical as I can get without looking at a reference source. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/11 "2012-12-12T02:44:11Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > How is “used in commerce” defined? I would have thought that paying a company to register the domain, and then hosting some content at the domain, would constitute “commerce”. No that’s not a use in commerce for the purposes of trademark law. “Use in commerce” has a very specific meaning. It means that you are using the word, term, symbol, etc., as the indicator of origin of goods or services. To put it simply, it means you are using it as a brand name. Simply using a domain name as a domain name is not a use in commerce. [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) is a trademark not based on its use as a domain name, but because the company actually uses the term “[Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com)” to label its goods. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/12 "2012-12-12T02:50:00Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > You might not have a trademark on the super clever and creative title of your non-commercial blog… but would you have a copyright on it? What would be the difference in that case? Titles, single words, short phrases, slogans, and names are not protected by copyright law. Sometimes they’re protectable under trademark law, if it is used as an umbrella label for a series of works. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/13 "2012-12-12T03:39:22Z")
> [@](#): > > No that’s not a use in commerce for the purposes of trademark law. “Use in commerce” has a very specific meaning. It means that you are using the word, term, symbol, etc., as the indicator of origin of goods or services. To put it simply, it means you are using it as a brand name. Simply using a domain name as a domain name is not a use in commerce. [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) is a trademark not based on its use as a domain name, but because the company actually uses the term “[Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com)” to label its goods. So, let’s say that I start a webcomic, called “Adventures of Chronos”. I don’t care about making money from it, and so I don’t even bother with the customary PayPal donation box, but I don’t want people appropriating it, either. I start a website called [www.adventuresofchronos.com](http://www.adventuresofchronos.com) , to host my comic. Could I argue that the comic is a good or service I provide, and that the URL [www.adventuresofchronos.com](http://www.adventuresofchronos.com) indicates that good or service as originating with me? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/14 "2012-12-12T03:47:27Z")
To have trademark rights in “[www.adventuresofchronos.com](http://www.adventuresofchronos.com),” the title of your comic must be “[www.adventuresofchronos.com](http://www.adventuresofchronos.com).” But if you have a paper comic called “Adventures of Chronos,” you probably could argue that a web comic using [adventuresofchronos.com](http://adventuresofchronos.com) is cyber squatting and creates a likelihood of confusion with your comic. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/15 "2012-12-12T04:00:00Z")
And whether you charge for it is not relevant. That’s how nonprofit entities and charities can hold trademark rights. ---
**Author:** ![AndyLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AndyLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyLee)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/16 "2012-12-12T16:32:21Z")
You don’t have to register a trademark but as others said, it’s harder to fight an infringment. It’s easier to wrest away a dot com (or dot net or whatever) name if you have a trademark. The US Trademark Site > **[Trademarks](https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks)** > > Find out how to register and maintain a trademark in the U.S., apply for an international trademark, and about protecting your registered trademark. will show you just how complex this is Some examples include: Madonna who was able to wrest [Madonna.Com](http://Madonna.Com) away from the original owner, because he was implying that Madonna endorsed his site and using it for commerce. Other sites such as WalMartSucks were able to keep their sites even though they used a trademark Walmart, because it was deemed a “legitimate” fair use of the trademark. Other “legitimate” uses include reviews, comparisons (Walmart is better than Target) and factual statements. For instance, Playboy sued to stop a former model from using Playboy’s trademark on her site, but it was ruled she was in fact a former Playboy model and that was a material fact and that was a legitimate use of the term. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/17 "2012-12-12T22:17:28Z")
> [@](#): > > To have trademark rights in “[www.adventuresofchronos.com](http://www.adventuresofchronos.com),” the title of your comic must be “[www.adventuresofchronos.com](http://www.adventuresofchronos.com).” Sure, but I’m not trying to claim trademark rights on “[www.adventuresofchronos.com](http://www.adventuresofchronos.com)”. I’m trying to claim trademark rights on “Adventures of Chronos”. But that’s part of that URL. For comparison, the Coca-Cola company probably doesn’t hold a trademark on “[www.drinkrefreshingcocacola.com](http://www.drinkrefreshingcocacola.com)”, but they do have a trademark on “Coca-Cola”. And I’m sure that if anyone were to put up a site with that name, the Coca-Cola company would send legions of attack lawyers after them, since the site name contains one of their trademarks. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/18 "2012-12-12T22:19:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Sure, but I’m not trying to claim trademark rights on “[www.adventuresofchronos.com](http://www.adventuresofchronos.com)”. I’m trying to claim trademark rights on “Adventures of Chronos”. But that’s part of that URL. > > For comparison, the Coca-Cola company probably doesn’t hold a trademark on “[www.drinkrefreshingcocacola.com](http://www.drinkrefreshingcocacola.com)”, but they do have a trademark on “Coca-Cola”. And I’m sure that if anyone were to put up a site with that name, the Coca-Cola company would send legions of attack lawyers after them, since the site name contains one of their trademarks. Did you read the rest of my post? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/19 "2012-12-12T22:22:27Z")
I actually hold (and have held, and use for a related purpose) a Big Name domain name - don’t want to say what, but it’s fun and the trademark owner has made several requests that I turn it over to them. (I reply, “Sure, let’s talk…” and never hear anything until the next bland request to send them the keys.) Anyone else hold a certifiably Big Name domain? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672/20 "2012-12-12T22:25:07Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > I actually hold (and have held, and use for a related purpose) a Big Name domain name - don’t want to say what, but it’s fun and the trademark owner has made several requests that I turn it over to them. (I reply, “Sure, let’s talk..” and never hear anything until the next bland request to send them the keys.) One of these days, you’re going to be hit with a cybersquatting claim in federal court, and it’s going to cost you money you would rather have not spent in order to be told to hand it over anyway. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-dot-com-website-names-trademarked/643672.md?page=2)