Question is it illegal to have a domain that contains the name of a legitimate business?

[edprush]

s it illegal to have a domain that contains the name of a legitimate business or product?

Let's say I registered something like PepsiBottles.com

Will Pepsi win a law suit against me?

 

[Hyperblaze]

they can't do sh!t all.

They might send you threatening emails but that's more a scare tactic then anything else.

 

[edprush]

What about something definitely derogatory like PepsiSucks.com, wouldn't get me into a major lawsuit?

 

[iamme]

probably depends on what you do with the site as well. sites that come to mind are ipodlounge.com, pocketpcthoughts.com. they use trademarked names and have been going for some time now.

if you used pepsibottle.com with pepsi logos and tried to fool people into thinking you were part of pepsi, the company, i'm sure they'd have a problem with that.

 

[edprush]

That sounds reasonable.

 

[txrandom]

Anyone remember the MikeRoweSoft.com case? This should answer your question.

 

[MagicConch]

What if a company was created after you built your website using part of your website name? Like say you had a website named JoeBobSucks.com, then a company is created named JoeBob, then they sue for slander or something. I think it's such a can of worms that if you made a website called PepsiSucks.com, they would have a bunch of lawyers call you just b/c they know you couldn't afford to fight them.

 

[jtusa]

My domain is the exact same as a business, just change the .net to a .com and there you go.

 

[Orsorum]

It really depends, it's a complex issue (edited a paper my sister wrote on the topic when she was in law school). IIRC, for a small guy to win a case where he uses an established trademark, he has to show good-faith intent upon registration and a legitimate business or personal use for the name.

So a guy who registers the name "www.ipod.com" with the intent of cashing in on the ipod trademark would probably lose a challenge since the registration was made in bad faith. But a guy who registers the name "www.ipod.name" because he has the nickname "I Pod" might stand a chance of winning.

IIRC, it's been four years since I looked into the subject.

 

[edprush]

Originally posted by: txrandom
Anyone remember the MikeRoweSoft.com case? This should answer your question.

elaborate....

 

[YetioDoom]

Originally posted by: iamme
probably depends on what you do with the site as well. sites that come to mind are ipodlounge.com, pocketpcthoughts.com. they use trademarked names and have been going for some time now.

if you used pepsibottle.com with pepsi logos and tried to fool people into thinking you were part of pepsi, the company, i'm sure they'd have a problem with that.

ipodlounge is now just ilounge.

Ruh-roh!