Knowing Trademark

[Fstorm]

Hi
How do I know whether the site name I want is a trademark of anybody or not?

[Fstorm]

I have a website name with different domain that is same as other two website. Eg my website is www.example.cc and there are other 2 people with example.com and example.net. I did'nt find any trademarks of them.
If they take trademark and suppose if I dont know it, can they take any action?
Please reply me

[hannamyluv]

You can look up trademarks at the United States Patent and Trademark Office website.
[tess2.uspto.gov...]

If they take trademark and suppose if I dont know it, can they take any action?

If I remember correctly, if you can show that you were using the mark before it was trademarked, you should be okay. I do know that if a trademark is filed, there is a quite a lengthy time period before it is registered that you can file an objection. So if you are really concerned about it, you can just periodically check the Trademark office site and if something comes up that worries you, you can file an objection if it's not registered.

That being said, I'm not a lawyer, so I am not qualified to give out legal advice.

[Fstorm]

Thank you for your reply
Actually I am not a professional or a business person. I just made my site for fun. So I don't want myself to have any trademark.
I checked the site for trademark. I found no trademarks. I don't want to fall into any trouble for this matter.
just to confirm: Can they take any action if they take trademark now and I dont know?
Just to be on the safe time, I try to register a new name.

[hannamyluv]

Can they take any action if they take trademark now and I dont know?

I don't think so. I wouldn't go through the trouble of getting a new domain right yet.

Even if for some reason you are useing a trademarked term, there are several factors in play. Trademark does not cover a term wholly. For example, there is Microsoft, the software company and then there is Microsoft, a term used by a bedding manfacturer in Australia to describe a line of bedding. Since no one would mistake Microsoft Software for Microsoft Bedding, and vice versa, both companies own the trademark in the US on the word Microsoft.

Even if someone does get the trademark, if your site does not confilct with their product and you are using the domain for something, you should be okay.

Even beyond that, if a company feels that you are violating their trademark, they will send a cease and desist and half the time offer to buy the domain. That's when you might want to look for a new domain.

Have you gotten a cease and desist? If you have, you may want to be careful. They could be bluffing. A cease and desist really doesn't mean much legally. I could send you a cease and desist saying I think you should stop walking, but that doesn't mean that I have any legal grounds to do so. Many larger companies will send a cease and desist to a smaller entity "just to see what would happen", even though they have no legal grounds to do so.

[Blue_Wizard]

Can they take any action if they take trademark now and I dont know?

Yes they can. If they established the trademark before you registered your domain name (in otherwords if the trademark registration pre-exists your domain establishement). It's called trademark libel, misreprenting an established trademark and it's way way way easier to get sued and to sue over than copyright issues.