Buying a Domain Name is Not Equivalent to Registering your Trademark

I often get asked this question. While it’s great that you own the domain name, you have virtually no intellectual property protection of the domain name without a registered trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). That means a third party can potentially use your branding on their products and services without consequence.

A domain name is an internet address. For example, https://antareslawfirm.com is a domain name. Domain names allow an internet user to visit a specific website. Often, a company or individual entrepreneur attempts to acquire domain names that are the same, if not similar, to its business name or trademark. You can obtain domain names by purchasing them from a name registrar. While owning a domain name helps you build the value of your brand, it does not protect your brand from intellectual property intellectual theft.

A trademark is used to identify a product or a service used in the marketplace. A trademark can be a business name, slogan, logo, or hashtags -- to name a few. A trademark is used by its owner to distinguish its products and services from those of competitors. A registered trademark offers you broad protection of your branding under trademark law. Meaning you can demand a third party to stop using your branding on its products or services and, in some instances, that third party may owe you monetary damages. An unregistered trademark, however, does not generally provide protection under trademark law.

If you have questions about domain names and trademarks, contact us today to set up a consultation.

-Laila Ghauri, Esq., Principle Attorney, Antares Law Firm