Imagine having a trademark name on the business. The use of having a trademark registration on the business is to prevent confusion for customers. A trademark prevents a rival competitor using the same name as yours to pull the customers to their business. Five-seven years back, the main use of domains was to represent the websites on the world wide web but now it has become so much more than that. Today, the domain names have evolved into being business identifiers. Forasmuch, the commercial activities on the World Wide Web are increasing exponentially by the day, the usefulness and importance of the domain name have to be augmented to aim for greater popularity, publicity and monetary profit for all economic sector.

Conditions for Registering Domains as Trademarks:

It is not that that easy to register your domain as a trademark. You cannot register generic names as a trademark. An organization will face problems registering a domain name like food.com as a trademark because you cannot prohibit people from using everyday common terms like food. Samsung, Dell, Canon can effortlessly qualify for the registration of a trademark as they do not consist of common words. As soon as someone uses Samsung or canon in their domain without getting it approved by the company, they can be sued for infringement. If you can come up with a name which is uncommon in itself, it can qualify for a trademark.

If you want to get your domain name trademarked, it should be in online commerce or business. The domain cannot be trademarked if it is just an ‘informative’ website. You can only receive trademark certification if you are intensely using it for buying and selling of services and products. If the domain you own is unique and not trademarked, you won’t be entitled to the rights and protection.

Conduct a Thorough Trademark Search

Before applying for a trademark, conduct a rigorous trademark search and make sure that the domain name is surely unique and prevent yourself from ‘trademark objection’ from the registrar. After making sure that the domain is distinctive, you can get your domain registered.

Trademark Infringement of Domain Name

An issue of Trademark infringement of domain name arises when there is a clash between an already existing trademark name and the one you have chosen like if you tried to register a domain like “samsungmachines.com” where ‘Samsung’ which is already a registered trademark is present, you are infringing the trademark. This happens to the person who will be visiting your website will get deluded that either your website is affiliated or is owned by Samsung. It is very much possible that your intention of putting Samsung in your domain was not to get more clicks but this usage is an infringement of already trademarked Samsung.com.

Avoiding Trademark Disagreement:

It is always prudent to search for a trademark which is distinct so that the clashes which might come up in the future can be avoided. Also, you should always check the similar domain trademarks which are registered for preventive measures.