Trademark And The Internet
In this period of extensive internet use, trademark laws gain special significance in cyberspace, especially in terms of trademarks for domain names. This is important if you want to spread the word about your goods or services among the consumers with the help of your domain name.
Once you are a trademark holder of a domain name, you can take legal action against a company for making use of a similar name and thus confusing people into believing that you, the original trademark holder, are in some way connected to their web site.
However, you have to do a comprehensive search for identical domain names in cyberspace before registering your trademark, in order to prevent any infringements. The research should investigate the existence of similar marks that have a strong resemblance in looks, sound or meaning to the domain name you have chosen. You should file an application for registration only after you are certain that your mark is distinct enough to avoid any infringement claims.
For this purpose, it is better to take help of a lawyer, preferably a cyber law specialist, who also has a comprehensive knowledge of trademark laws. This will save you from serious trademark infringement action that can arise in future.
It is essential to note in this regard that a domain name can be registered as a trademark only if it acts as an identifier of the goods or services of your firm, and not just as an online address that brings web users to your site.
Besides domain name infringement, there is a new problem of keyword infringement in cyberspace. It basically means infringement of trademarks and their unlawful use as keywords through display of promotional ads on advertising networks like Yahoo and Google, with the purpose of confusing the consumer.
If the promotional ads help in increasing the sale of the trademark holder, it is not a violation but the problem is created when the infringer starts using such advertisements for marketing his own goods for a commercial advantage.
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categories: protecting business ideas,business value,Intellectual property,IP law,IP lawyer,trademarks,patents,ideas protection,copyright
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