Domain names, trademarks and prior use

Can someone trademark your domain name and later claim it as their own?

[stormy]

Are you trademarking your domain names? What about generic domain names, misspellings, etc?

Is it possible for a company to file a trademark for your domain name, and later take it away from you?

I'm a bit worried because I'm having a really hard time trademarking my domain name here in Spain. The name is a play-off on a generic name, let's say it's "wiidgets.com". I'm facing these restrictions:

-I can't use "Wiidgets" as my business name because there are some other business registered as "Widgets" or "Widgets Something"
-I can't use "Widgets.com" because ".com" is not allowed (stupid rule)
-I've applied for "Widgetsdotcom" and got denied too (probably the same stupid rule)

The next step would be trying to trademark my domain name, but it's a lot more expensive and I'm afraid I might face the same hurdles.

I'm even thinking of trademarking it in the US!

Any suggestions?

[Webwork]

You'll even run into obstacles in the U.S. when it comes to registering a dot com domain as a trademark.

Visit the US Patent and Trademark website [USPTO.gov] and rummage around. You'll see what I mean. Lot's of dead applications for domain name based trademark apps.

I recall reading an intergovernmental memo, possibly from within the USPTO, chastising reviewers to only grant such protection in cases of unique character.

[davezan]

Is it possible for a company to file a trademark for your domain name, and later take it away from you?

The link below is one "case" where someone did just that...and backfired.

[arbiter.wipo.int...]

That'll give you a few clues.

But as to how to secure a formal trademark, only a qualified attorney who eats these for BLD (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner) can handle this for you. ;)