Similar sounding domain names concern

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

Ok, say someone has a domain name called cupcakesdirect.com and I register kupcakesdirekt.com, could I get sued for that? I just replace 2 'C's with 2 'K's. Would this land me in court?

Before any court action, you would probably receive a cease and desist letter from the cupcakesdirect company. If you ignored the cease and desist, then it is possible you could have your domain name wrested away from you and you could potentially be sued.

It really depends on all of the facts, including your purpose for using the domain name.

This reminds me of a case from back about 2002. Google "BidBay eBay" - there were lawsuits, and plenty of articles online about it. Even the URL "bidbay" was bought on ebay, yet bidbay got into quite the legal snafu. That's just a huge sample that comes to mind from many years ago, but perhaps researching some articles on that situation might offer you some insight.

There likely are many factors involved when it comes to a similar sounding URL.

kyky said:

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

Ok, say someone has a domain name called cupcakesdirect.com and I register kupcakesdirekt.com, could I get sued for that? I just replace 2 'C's with 2 'K's. Would this land me in court?

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**A: I suggest coming up with a totally new name.

quincy said:

Before any court action, you would probably receive a cease and desist letter from the cupcakesdirect company. If you ignored the cease and desist, then it is possible you could have your domain name wrested away from you and you could potentially be sued.

It really depends on all of the facts, including your purpose for using the domain name.

Click to expand...

I want to start up a business that sells calling cards.

I saw the name for sale (with a C) for a million dollars (money I don't have). I like the name since it is easy to remember, short and to the point.

Trademark infringement centers on consumer confusion.

If a consumer is led to believe by the name that one product or service is really that of another product or service, due to the intentional naming or an inadvertant naming on the part of a "second" company, it can lead to an infringement suit filed against this second company by the trademark-owning first company. This confusion can arise through company names that are strikingly similar, product or service names that are strikingly similar, or domain names that are strikingly similar.

Infringement suits can be expensive actions to defend against so it is always wise, before investing a lot of time, money and energy into a business, to check to make sure that your business is not infringing on the intellectual property rights of any other company.

It is usually best that you come up with a name for your product or service that is unlike any others. Invented words work well (think Kodak and Xerox and Kleenex) as do portmanteau words (think Microsoft). The unique name can tell consumers that your company is unique, as well. And another plus is that a unique name protects you from an infringement suit.