Greets all,

I have a domain name that I want to use for my company. This domain name has a word in it that is used by a very big online company and I'm wondering if there is anywhere/anyhow I can check to make sure that there will be no trouble for me using this name!?

Invest in a bit of trademark research. That's the biggest area where you'll get in trouble.

I did a search in Google and found this website: http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm
I searched for the words in my domain name together and there were no matches, But the first word alone had plenty. Does that mean it's ok for me to use that domain name?

I'm sure there are many who'll agree with you that it's okay. However, the only opinion that will affect you at all is the opinion held by the company holding the trademark to the word(s) in question. They're the ones who can make your life miserable should they discover you and take issue with your domain name.

There are one or two lawyers who prowl this board, so perhaps one of them might emerge with some advice.

My advice is to avoid treading too close to the edge.

Canadian Trademark search is here.

http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/cgi-bin/sc_consu/trade-marks/search_e.pl

WIPO does recognize International Trademarks in Domain Name / Trademark disputes.
:spiny:

While you can -- as you did -- check with the PTO to see what's registered, the reason I'd say you should talk to a patent attorney is because they should be reading all the findings, challenges, and results from the Patent and Trademark Office. So they'd be familiar with precedents that might relate to your case and could probably give you specific advise.

You should be able to get that in an initial consultation, so it shouldn't require spending too much...

I recently registered a domain and within 2 weeks got a letter from corporate attorney that I have infringed on a trademark. They are asking me what my intended use for it, and if I was wanting to sell it, how much I want for it, so they are at least being reasonable in their first letter.

But I wasn't trying to be stupid about it when I registered it.

The story is this: The name in conflict is the name of a county. This county is also the name of a famous company (and that company is also the largest employer in that county - very rural county).

This big company is in the food business.

My intentions to use the domain name were to associate myself with a retail Cyber-Cafe business (coffee shop and Internet access).

so I registered countynamecafe.com -- and countyname-cafe.com - but since they are actually in the food business (wholesale), I can see their point. But I also feel that associating a business name with the location (county name) is pretty common practice too.

The company has had the trademark since 1950! But the fact that I was trying to name my business after the _location_ seems like a pretty complicated situation.

Anyone run into a situation like this, any recommend research web sites?

Yes, I know that an attorney can help me, but I don't always trust them. I have had them free at very large corporations, and often times just like any two professionals - they give conflicting advice. ((Ask two web hosting operators which type of server is better
:D ))

and remember...a person can not have a trademark on a generic word. example is bay. you can start a company called toybay.com and sell toys online but you cant have an auction on the site due to ebay. you may want to consult an attorney.

Zolbian, I dont think you are going to have a problem. a common word can be used in millions of ways. Imagine if I own trademark "dog.com" does this mean any business with word dog in it is infringing on my trademark?

Yeah, I think so too. Just wanted to get a few opinions on this.
Thank you everyone for replying.