Hi guys,

Just wanting general consensus...

Would it be trademark infringement to register www.unofficial______(anything).com?

For example: Let's say I was creating a website on Pokemon and I registered www.unofficialpokemon.com

Have seen other similar registrations although they used other than the word "unofficial", but have never heard of them being sued.

I think essentially you would not be in trouble with the proprietary owner if it's clear that you're not trying to pass yourself off as them or their business representative.

If you want to be on the safe side, you could write to the proprietary owner and get some sort of clearance.

In terms of trademark infringement it is best to contact a lawyer and make sure services provided by you on the domain doesn't conflict with the official domain as the whole case also depends on the services provided by the official domain.

Would it be trademark infringement to register www.unofficial______(anything).com?

I still think it will not be a trademark infringement for registering your mentioned domain. An example is followed by http://www.googlecommunity.com which is not an official Google domain and has a disclaimer at the bottom right.

The best "general consensus" answer to your question is it's case
to case basis. But at the very least, how you'll use the domain can
make a difference.

mdadnan said it best: contact an attorney. This is a domain forum,
not a legal forum.

There oughta be a sticky that whatever's dispensed here doesn't
constitute legal advice. :D

Ya you would be real trouble if u try to register an trademark domain.

http://www.microsoft.com

http://www.microwsoft.com are different, but if register u will get in trouble,

They see how it spells.

What happens if someone registers a trademark after the domain already exists?

For example if i have thealmightychimp.com as one of my domains what happens if someone registers thealmightychimp as a trademark?

Originally posted by Dan541
What happens if someone registers a trademark after the domain already exists?

For example if i have thealmightychimp.com as one of my domains what happens if someone registers thealmightychimp as a trademark? You can fight their claim to the trademark. Generally, the winner is whoever can prove that they first used the trademark in commerce. But you have to dispute it in a timely manner. If you don't dispute their claim to the trademark, then it is assumed that they are the rightful owners of the phrase or wordmark.

There are also laws related to regional use of a trademark. Trademark law can get very messy... that what keeps the lawyers employed. ;)

There was a discussion I guess at GoDaddys radio about such things like godaddysucks.com or similar domains. Check their site if interested :)

if it doesn't fight the official trademark i doubt trademark owners will raise an UDRP against someone who are promoting them more :)

but it is always better to seek a lawyer advice.

Thanks for the replies everyone :) It's cleared a few thigns up for me and yes, I'll go see what else I can dig up.

Truly this depends on the company. AOL will go broke going after people for boardline infringments.