Website domain question

[Brandon V]

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

I am interested in starting a web site where people can list and buy a certain type of (big ticket) item. There's already a company that owns several of these web sites and I am interested in entering the market and competing against it. However, the company has recently been buying (nearly) every conceivable domain name that could compete with them.

Here's a fictional example. Let's say I want to sell business jets and the company already owns the domain name businessjettrader.com. I want to compete with them with another web site but I've discovered they've already purchased the following domains:

corporatejettrader.com
bizjettrader.com
etc.

The company owns these domains but isn't doing anything with them. I'm 100% certain they are just buying these domains to limit competition.

Now, here's what I'm thinking about doing. I'm thinking about purchasing one of the domains that the company isn't using and adding something extra on the end...like USA. It would be something like this:

corporatejettraderusa.com

Would I face any legal consequences of purchasing and using this domain if the company in question already owns (but isn't using) corporatejettrader.com?

Many thanks,

 

[quincy]

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

I am interested in starting a web site where people can list and buy a certain type of (big ticket) item. There's already a company that owns several of these web sites and I am interested in entering the market and competing against it. However, the company has recently been buying (nearly) every conceivable domain name that could compete with them.

Here's a fictional example. Let's say I want to sell business jets and the company already owns the domain name businessjettrader.com. I want to compete with them with another web site but I've discovered they've already purchased the following domains:

corporatejettrader.com
bizjettrader.com
etc.

The company owns these domains but isn't doing anything with them. I'm 100% certain they are just buying these domains to limit competition.

Now, here's what I'm thinking about doing. I'm thinking about purchasing one of the domains that the company isn't using and adding something extra on the end...like USA. It would be something like this:

corporatejettraderusa.com

Would I face any legal consequences of purchasing and using this domain if the company in question already owns (but isn't using) corporatejettrader.com?

Many thanks,

You could face legal consequences if you use a domain name for your company that is intended to confuse consumers into thinking your company is the other company. Your domain name could be wrested from you and you could find the company has a good case against you for a trademark infringement suit and/or unfair business practice actions.

I suggest you compete fairly with the other business by creating for your business a unique name that distinguishes your business from your competitor's business, and then work to make your business more attractive to consumers by offering better prices or service or a better product or whatever.

Good luck.

 

[Brandon V]

I think you may have misinterpreted my intentions. The company is buying up (nearly) ever conceivable web domain to make it impossible to create a competing web site. They aren't doing anything with these domains....just buying and holding. I don't want to confuse any customers into thinking my company is another company. I only want to find a legal way to compete with this company.

I do not want to create a web site that is based off of any existing web sites. I only want to add something to the end of one of the names the company in question has purchased and is not using (to limit competition) and use it. I'm trying to find a legal way to get this business up and running.

I suggest you compete fairly with the other business by creating for your business a unique name that distinguishes your business from your competitor's business, and then work to make your business more attractive to consumers by offering better prices or service or a better product or whatever.

What you are suggesting is impossible based on the fact that this company is buying up all domain names that could compete with it. Every time I come up with an idea for a web site domain name and look it up....guess what? That company has already purchased it.

 

[Zigner]

I think you may have misinterpreted my intentions. The company is buying up (nearly) ever conceivable web domain to make it impossible to create a competing web site. They aren't doing anything with these domains....just buying and holding. I don't want to confuse any customers into thinking my company is another company. I only want to find a legal way to compete with this company.

I do not want to create a web site that is based off of any existing web sites. I only want to add something to the end of one of the names the company in question has purchased and is not using (to limit competition) and use it. I'm trying to find a legal way to get this business up and running.



What you are suggesting is impossible based on the fact that this company is buying up all domain names that could compete with it. Every time I come up with an idea for a web site domain name and look it up....guess what? That company has already purchased it.

You have no idea if they are using the domain or not. They probably ARE using the domain for email purposes, etc.

Come up with something original (that's the advice given.)

 

[quincy]

I think you may have misinterpreted my intentions. The company is buying up (nearly) ever conceivable web domain to make it impossible to create a competing web site. They aren't doing anything with these domains....just buying and holding. I don't want to confuse any customers into thinking my company is another company. I only want to find a legal way to compete with this company.

I do not want to create a web site that is based off of any existing web sites. I only want to add something to the end of one of the names the company in question has purchased and is not using (to limit competition) and use it. I'm trying to find a legal way to get this business up and running.



What you are suggesting is impossible based on the fact that this company is buying up all domain names that could compete with it. Every time I come up with an idea for a web site domain name and look it up....guess what? That company has already purchased it.

The company is allowed to buy up all domain names with variations of their own trademark so that others cannot use them. In fact, many businesses have now started to do this as a way to protect their trademark by preventing others from capitalizing off their trademarked name or to prevent consumers from being confused. It is perfectly legal.

Again I suggest you find a legal way to compete with another business by making your business a more attractive choice for consumers. You do this by creating a unique trademark that distinguishes your company from your competitors and then competing with your competitors products or services by way of better quality or better price or better convenience for consumers or better whatever. Using another's trademark, however, is not competition, it is confusion, and it can spawn a lawsuit.

You may wish to sit down with an attorney in your area to review trademark laws. The attorney you see can personally review the actual names involved and the attorney can better point out to you how using a domain name with another's trademark in it to direct traffic to your competing business website can be legally risky.

Good luck.

 

[Brandon V]

Come up with something original (that's the advice given.)

Once again...the company is buying up all other domains. That essentially makes coming up with something original impossible.

If you know anything at all about how web domains rank in the search engines, you would know that you can't just make up some random name and expect it to get ranked. It doesn't work like that. I can't call it kennedyjetsales.com and have it ranked. It's all about keywords.

I understand all of you are looking at this purely from a legal perspective (which I do appreciate), however, what all of you are proposing essentially makes entering the business an impossibility. You can't just name your web site any ol' thing and have people find it. It doesn't work like that in the world of internet search.

 

[Zigner]

Once again...the company is buying up all other domains. That essentially makes coming up with something original impossible.

If you know anything at all about how web domains rank in the search engines, you would know that you can't just make up some random name and expect it to get ranked. It doesn't work like that. I can't call it kennedyjetsales.com and have it ranked. It's all about keywords.

I understand all of you are looking at this purely from a legal perspective (which I do appreciate), however, what all of you are proposing essentially makes entering the business an impossibility. You can't just name your web site any ol' thing and have people find it. It doesn't work like that in the world of internet search.

Strange - two of the largest used-plane sites don't even have the word airplane (or any variation thereof) it their respective domain names.

 

[quincy]

Once again...the company is buying up all other domains. That essentially makes coming up with something original impossible.

If you know anything at all about how web domains rank in the search engines, you would know that you can't just make up some random name and expect it to get ranked. It doesn't work like that. I can't call it kennedyjetsales.com and have it ranked. It's all about keywords.

I understand all of you are looking at this purely from a legal perspective (which I do appreciate), however, what all of you are proposing essentially makes entering the business an impossibility. You can't just name your web site any ol' thing and have people find it. It doesn't work like that in the world of internet search.

Once again ... the company buying up all of the other domain names that use its trademark is legal. You will have to come up with another name. Pure and simple.

The way you build your own business is not by capitalizing off another's rights-protected name. It doesn't work that way. You come up with a unique name that distinguishes your business from all others (that is what trademark law is about, so consumers do not confuse one company with another) and then you advertise your business and you build up a consumer base by providing a better product or service.

This is a legal site so we look at things from a legal perspective. If you want purely business advice, you will probably be best off finding a business professional in your area or finding a website that can direct you. All I can tell you is that your proposed plan to use the trademark of another in your domain name so consumer traffic that is meant for your competitor might be diverted to your site can get you sued. Proceed at your own risk.