Trademark Infringement? Google.com vs. Frougal.com

Search engine trademark copyright

[jimbobway]

I just spent hard earned cash on a domain name...nothing is really there yet. However, I plan to have a search engine up and running soon that is an alternative to the major search engines.

Would Frougal.com be considered trademark infringement? My slogan would be..."Frougal -- We ain't Google." And maybe I'll have a little disclaimer at the bottom.

[DLadybug]

Google has a Froogle you know, right?

I think they can come after you for "trade dress"..where you've copied something, color scheme, name sound, etc. where you capitalize on something they have done to create brand awareness.

You can make a burger joint named Jerrys Burgers, but if the visual theme is clearly a take-off on Burger King by using the same or similar font styles on wrappers etc, you can get hit.

There is some research that says negative advertising has poor impact anyway. You might want to tell more about who you ARE then who you AREN'T.

Goggle is very pro-active in protecting their brand, so do be careful.

I would use a search engine named Gimmee..it sounds greedy enough to have a wide appeal. Might not translate well outside of the US though.

Just ideas,
Dian :)

[Shak]

I know an excellent domain name lawyer, let me know when you want his phone number.

He will be keen to get some "more" of your hard earned cash.
:)

Shak

[jimbobway]

Well that was unpleasant to hear but that was what I suspected. Hmmm...froogle.com...didn't know that. Oh well, I guess I didn't spend too much.

I took your advice and did a search for gimmee.com. It was taken...doh! It's so hard to find a good name these days ending in .com.

As for the lawyer, suggested by Shak I hope the lawyer doesn't cost more than $35 dollars--the cost of the domain.

Hmmm, what should I do with frougal.com now?

[Shak]

looks like you got had by the domain company aswell, only $6 per year mate :)

good luck

Shak

[kevinpate]

sell it to a ladies hair style shop?
no, that would be a better destination if you had bought
frou-frou-gal.com, but hey, who knows, it might just work out. But yeah, 35.00 is way too much for a domain name when lots of anme sellers are below 10 a pop

[DLadybug]

One thought, if you're really going to dump the name, it might sell to one of the people who does spoof sites. Search "spoofs". Let someone else have the joy/risk of ticking them off. <g>

Dian :)

[EliteWeb]

:) The word for the domain name you should be fine with, however mentioning you aint google may have some legalities to it just from using the word google.

[jimbobway]

Thanks for the advice about the domain name registration. Thing is I got it at register.com and they also have domain name servers to go along with the name. Who knows...maybe I'll try transfering it to a cheaper one.

Well, the only thing with 'frougal' is that it rhymes with google and that I'm putting up a search engine too. I mean "doodle" & "poodle" rhymes with google. The spelling is different. Maybe I'll stick with frougle, but I'll have to make the look definitely different somehow.

I don't want to get sued or have their lawyers on my back!

[vibgyor79]

Question: Is this a "Content and Copywriting Forum" or "Content and Copyrighting Forum"? ;)