Checking domain names and trademarks

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Question - how do I get to own the name of my business?

Answer - you can often buy domain names instantly; trademark law is much more complex - you can only buy a trademark if you buy the company that already owns it; a third way to own a business name is to use it as your registered company name which can be done very cheaply in some countries (e.g. the US and the UK)

Key Action Points

1. Domain names can be searched instantly for availability, and are usually bought on a first-come, first-served basis
2. Trademarks can be searched quickly for availability, but are much more complex than domain names because they can include many non-verbal elements of your brand identity – colours/shapes/sounds – and are registered by category by country. Therefore, a quick search would usually have to be followed up by detailed research
3. The rules for registering a company will vary by country. In the UK anyone can register a non-trading company within a couple of days. In other countries this can be a much longer and more laborious process

In more detail.....

Domain names

1. domain names work on a first-come, first-served basis. If it is available, you can buy it, at least for U.S. (.com, .org., .net, .pro, .biz etc.) and UK (.co.uk) domain names. Other countries have different rules, some of which limit you to registering a maximum of so many domain names per company. The main exception to this rule is if you are “cyber squatting”, where your only purpose for registering the name is to hold the brand/trademark owner of that name to ransom. In this case, you can be evicted by the courts, and the domain name offered back to the rightful brand/trademark owner
2. US, UK and other globally orientated domain names take seconds to check
3. you can use a 'Who is?' look up tool on the Internet to find out who has registered a specific domain name

Trademarks

1. trademarks are more complex. They are registered by category by country – so different companies can register the same trademark in different categories. You are more likely to obtain the registration and retain the ownership of your trademark if you have chosen either a made up/coined name (e.g. Xerox, Kodak etc.) or out-of-context name (e.g. Amazon, Smile, Apple etc.). A trademark that is suggestive of the activity can also work (e.g. Oddbins, RayBan etc.), but descriptive names will be difficult, although there are examples (e.g. British Airways, MicroSoft etc.). The problem with descriptive names is that a competitor can claim prior use
2. trademarks will typically cost $2,000+ to register per category per country, including the research fees to ensure that the trademark is available, $500+ per category per country to re-register every 10 years, $10,000+ per trademark to track for infringements (although this is sometimes offered as a free service by companies who are regularly registering trademarks on your behalf), and $1,000,000+ to defend if it goes to contested litigation
3. initial searches of verbal trademarks can be run for free on the Internet. However, you will then have to pay for a more detailed research prior to registration to ensure that there are no unintentional meanings attached to the trademark, or more complex infringements. Each element of a brand identity can be trademarked - colours/sounds/shapes/slogans, individually or in combination. You may also wish to register your trademark in different scripts, e.g. Cyrillic, Farsi, Ideograms. It is usually best to make up 20-50 names, because only 2-3 will be usable globally
4. you do not need to register your name but, if you choose not to, you may find yourself infringing someone else’s trademark, or someone else may seek to register your name as a trademark and, if they succeed, you will then have to cease and desist in using your name in countries of first registration (where the first person to register the trademark owns it)

Registered company names

In many countries, registered company names can be easily searched. In some countries (e.g. the UK), new companies can be registered within a few days at very little cost, i.e. as a non-trading registered company. You are then entitled to use the name of your registered company in that country.

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