Domain name and Trademark?

[lost69souls]

Hi,

here is the situation:
There is a domain name that I want to have. It is already registered but it is not trademarked.
If I registed a trademark for this domain name can I get it from the registrar?
How much does cost to register a trademark - I mean the time and the money and are there some online relatively cheap providers for trademarks?

Thank you in advance for your replys.

[Hope]

If someone else already has the domain name why do you want to trademark it? Have you tried to ask them if they want to sell it? Is the domain name the name of your company?

[SensoVision]

yeah I can just echo what Hope has said.

[lost69souls]

Hi,

I want to trademark it because it is a high traffic domain name. They won't sell it for sure The domain name is not the name of my company but it is the easiest thing to register a new company with the same name, right?
So what do you think - if I register a company with the same name and trademark the domain can I get it legally from the registrar or from the owner?

[SensoVision]

I'm not sure if such way really work, and personally I wouldn't do this simply because it sounds not ethical... also I'm not sure but I guess company could easily prove that they have register this domain much earlier than you decide to make it your trademark... maybe they can win the courcase(and I actually hope they will do, since if everyone try to get domains this way it would make life on the web much harder...)

[Andy]

Once a domain name is registered it is "prior art" like it's already in the public domain (assuming that it is really in the public domain, like it is visible on the web). A trademark is something that marks your business identity where you used it in the course of business over a period of time like in advertisements, letterheads etc.

There are two sides here, one who registers a name and doesn't use it and the other who is conducting business related to the name. In my opinion, the person who is obviously and actively using the name should be awarded rights to the name. This is what I would contest in a court of law.

[Hope]

I want to trademark it because it is a high traffic domain name. They won't sell it for sure The domain name is not the name of my company but it is the easiest thing to register a new company with the same name, right?
So what do you think - if I register a company with the same name and trademark the domain can I get it legally from the registrar or from the owner?

So what you are saying is you don't want to do any work, but you just want to make money. You are no better than a mugger. You disgust me. You are wanting to steal someone elses hard work because you are lazy and expect the world to hand you things bacause you can think of a way to cheat.

[vincent nyambi]

I would like to register a clothing line name.i'm not sure if it's a trademark or what.may you please send me some info. on how i register,how much it costs? if I register this clothing line but i just want to design and dress the brand myself until i get the money to expand the brand and make it public,may i do that? that means i don't pay tax right? what if i sell afew items e.g.clothing, part of my brand between people i know,do i have to pay tax then?

[Andy]

Hi Vincent,

in the UK TradeMarks are administered by the Patent Office. The workings must be very similar in major countries around the world I would imagine.

All the info is here: http://www.patent.gov.uk/tm/

If you are running a business you are subject to tax and need to register with the tax man. But you are only taxed on profits, so make sure you deduct all your expenses from revenues in your accounts. Plus you get a tax free bracket and other various levels of tax applied according to levels of income.

If you sell to friends you are still subject to tax but many many people sell services such as hairdressing and cake making to friends and the tax man never knows since they get paid cash in hand If you swap things then you can't be taxed 

In your case I guess you would not make enough income to be liable to tax, but you have to register your business as a sole trader to be able to claim expenses. I'm no expert so I suggest consulting an accountant if you want concrete advice.

[Jamie Walker]

Hi lost69souls.  I think you're username is quite fitting as no one with a soul would consider doing something like that.

I want to trademark it because it is a high traffic domain name. They won't sell it for sure... So what do you think - if I register a company with the same name and trademark the domain can I get it legally from the registrar or from the owner?

The answer is NO.  The current registrant has shown a history of use with the domain and therefore automatically has a small amount of copyright to the name.  YOU, however, have no legal right to the domain if you have not ALREADY been using this name prior to attempting to register your trademark.  "I'm not a lawyer but I've played one on tv" [it's a joke].  Seriously though, you will be hard-pressed to find anyone that will back you up on this action.  I've done enough domain registrations to know that if you don't have a prior history of use with the name, you can't simple trademark it because the current owner hasn't done so already.  Part of the trademark process is researching the name/image/etc and it's various current uses.

At the very least, THIS POST will shortly become included in a permanent internet archival and will be proof enough to a court/hearing/etc showing your true intent was only to steal the work of another individual/company and that you already knew you had no legal right to the domain name and still went ahead and attempted to trademark it for the sole intent of making a profit off of an existing work.

SHAME ON YOU...