Trademark infringement question - Hypothetical example : lsatexam.com

[MDCB]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? IL

Hello everyone:

I need your advice regarding a domain name. My small business helps professionals prepare for a board exam. For this example let us suppose it is the LSAT. LSAT is a registered trademark of the body that administers the exam. Is it illegal for me to register the domain name LSATexam.com ?

On the domain name LSATexam.com , can i offer products to help prepare for the LSAT exam ?

I'm in a similar situation, and i want to know how I can legally protect myself in such a situation. I greatly appreciate your help.
Awaiting your expert opinions.
Thank you

P.s. i don't own the domain name lsatexam.com, that is just an example to illustrate a point.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? IL

Hello everyone:

I need your advice regarding a domain name. My small business helps professionals prepare for a board exam. For this example let us suppose it is the LSAT. LSAT is a registered trademark of the body that administers the exam. Is it illegal for me to register the domain name LSATexam.com ?

On the domain name LSATexam.com , can i offer products to help prepare for the LSAT exam ?

I'm in a similar situation, and i want to know how I can legally protect myself in such a situation. I greatly appreciate your help.
Awaiting your expert opinions.
Thank you

P.s. i don't own the domain name lsatexam.com, that is just an example to illustrate a point.

To protect yourself from a potentially costly lawsuit, you either ask permission of the trademark holder to use a confusingly similar name for your domain name, or you come up with a different name.

Trademark law centers on consumer confusion. If a consumer sees your domain name and thinks it could be connected to, sponsored by or endorsed by the trademark holder, you will more than likely find yourself the recipient of a cease and desist letter. Also possible is a wresting away of your domain name, an injunction, and possibly a legal action taken against you.

There ARE domain names that use names similar to each other and they can peacefully co-exist. Peaceful coexistence generally will not occur when the domain names are used to direct consumer traffic to competing businesses.