Domain Names and Copyright Law

can I use a variation on a competitor name?

[drdsl2000]

We want to buy a domain name to play off a competitor name.

Their name is widget4keyword.com

and we want to by widgetfourkeyword.com

I don't see how we would be in violation of any trademark or copyright law.

Are we looking at any legal problems here?

Thanks for you help.

Craig

[kwasher]

Why ask for trouble?

Have you considered how you'd feel if your competitor were to do that to you?

[icann.org...]

b. Evidence of Registration and Use in Bad Faith. For the purposes of Paragraph 4(a)(iii), the following circumstances, in particular but without limitation, if found by the Panel to be present, shall be evidence of the registration and use of a domain name in bad faith:

(i) circumstances indicating that you have registered or you have acquired the domain name primarily for the purpose of selling, renting, or otherwise transferring the domain name registration to the complainant who is the owner of the trademark or service mark or to a competitor of that complainant, for valuable consideration in excess of your documented out-of-pocket costs directly related to the domain name; or

(ii) you have registered the domain name in order to prevent the owner of the trademark or service mark from reflecting the mark in a corresponding domain name, provided that you have engaged in a pattern of such conduct; or

(iii) you have registered the domain name primarily for the purpose of disrupting the business of a competitor; or

(iv) by using the domain name, you have intentionally attempted to attract, for commercial gain, Internet users to your web site or other on-line location, by creating a likelihood of confusion with the complainant's mark as to the source, sponsorship, affiliation, or endorsement of your web site or location or of a product or service on your web site or location.

[jbinbpt]

While it might not be an acutal violation, you could get tied up defending yourself. That can get very expensive.

[drdsl2000]

Thank you both for the response. We will re-think that
particular strategy.

Craig

[kwasher]

An exception might be if it were a 'domainsucks.com' type domain, where you are using your free speech to discuss your unhappiness with 'domain.com'.

[sidyadav]

I don't think its right to do that sort of thing but you are aloud to:

You might be familiar with the OS Linux, its website is:
[linux.org...]

Now this site here: [linuxsucks.com...] is actually saying terrible things about Linux and it has a domainsucks.com type domain, Linux is a Big company, Now why haven't Linux caught this site yet? This site's got a PR5, so imagine that many people hating linux linking to this site, Doesn't that bring Linux's $$$ down? and the people that hate Linux will probably linking to this site because this site says bad thigns about Linux that they've experienced.

Totally Unfair, if you ask me.

I mean, how would you like it if you opened a company named Widgets2 which has the site www.widgets2.com which is becoming very popular and its some sort of product, lets say for example a computer software that costs $100.

Its all going fine, you're getting sales and somebody buy's this software and doesn't like it, now this person is a bad person who idiotically gets the idea of opening a bad site about this product, www.widgets2sucks.com and it gives you all the bad sides about this software and bad things and says good things about its competitors softwares, and so it makes other people not buy this product and your sales go down etc. Just because of this 1 person.

Life's tough :(

Sid

[bird]

If widget4keyword is their business name, then it almost automatically also is their trademark (no registration required!). Any name that is prone to get confused with their trademark and is used within the same market is a violation of their rights.

I wouldn't recommend this approach.