Hello all,

I saw a site (domainprotect.com)
claims they can have my domain name trademarked in Tunisia within 48 hours for $799. Is that legitimate way to protect my domain name?

Do I need to establish a company first in order to be a reseller for hosting service.

Your advices are much appreciated!

why are you affraid of someone stealing your domain just register it everytime it expires.it will cost less then $799

Originally posted by Peter
I saw a site (domainprotect.com)
claims they can have my domain name trademarked in Tunisia within 48 hours for $799. Is that legitimate way to protect my domain name?

Do I need to establish a company first in order to be a reseller for hosting service.

Your advices are much appreciated!

That Tunisia deal sounds of scam. I'm sure they do register something, but its worth is questionable. Quote: "THE REGISTRATION IS MERELY A QUICK, INEXPENSIVE SOURCE OF PROTECTING YOUR DOMAIN NAME FROM BEING PLACED ON HOLD WITH NSI UNDER THE CURRENT DOMAIN NAME DISPUTE POLICY. IF YOU ARE BROUGHT INTO COURT ON CLAIMS OF TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT OR DILUTION, THE REGISTRATION WILL BE OF NO VALUE...". Well, I'd pass this by a lawyer to see if this is worth 3 cents or not (let alone $800).

You don't have to establish a compnay, but keep in mind that if you are accepting money and conducting business, you should treat it as a business. A sole proprietor (or similar type), is relatively painless and inexpensive to set up.

Google- seems this person is concerned with trademarking his domain, not just renewing it...

Don't bother, registering your domain name in order to protect it will not work. Someone brought the domain Madonna.com a few years ago and then register Madonna as a trademark in Tunisia (probably in order to protect it like yourself) but the court still ordered him to give the domain to Madonna (the singer)!

Full story at http://uk.news.yahoo.com/001016/4/amd56.html

FatCatz
http://www.pocketdownloads.com

The Tunisia registration thing is a holdover from pre-UDRP days. Under the old NSI dispute policy, you needed to have a registered trademark to protect your rights in your domain name. Tunisia, apparently, provided the fastest trademark registration around, so some folks used to get a Tunisian registration for the sole purpose of obtaining (quick) protection under the old NSI policy.

This is not the case anymore, i.e., the UDRP does not require registration. You can acquire trademark rights in a name without registration, although registration does confer certain advantages. [Trying to explain what constitutes a valid trademark, or what the advantages of registration are, is well beyond the scope of this bulletin board post].

I will say that for not a whole lot more than $799, you could hire an American lawyer to perform a trademark search, analyze the results, and (if the name you want can be trademarked), register it for you.

[Nothing in this post should be construed as legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is formed. If you want legal advice, whether about trademarks or otherwise, you need to consult an attorney]

[Nothing in this post should be construed as legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is formed. If you want legal advice, whether about trademarks or otherwise, you need to consult an attorney]

lawyers are sooo cute! ;)

http://www.uspto.gov/go/tm

I own a few trademarks w/matching domains.

Spend some time over at the uspto and see if owning a mark is worth your while. Submitting & filing yourself is NOT difficult, you just have to be organized. The cost to do it yourself is $325.00 US which lasts for 10 years.

Hope this Helps