When you create an
internet website for yourself or your business, it is imperative to
protect that by following all of the necessary legal steps involved
in this process. Part of this process involves registering the
trademark, designs, and domain name that you plan on using. These
things are how people will identify you, and you don't want anyone
else to use them unlawfully. In the vast expanse of the internet, it
is more important than ever to protect your intellectual property.
Sometimes people can get ideas stolen without being able to do
anything about it, simply because they did not protect themselves
properly. To avoid that happening to you, it is highly recommended
that you first choose a very unique name that people can use to
identify you. You should come up with a name that isn't in any
danger of being disputed later on because of its popularity.
If you think of some
of the most popular brand names in terms of just about anything, you
will see that while the name may be unrelated to what the business
is selling or the service they provide, it works well because there
is almost zero chance that they will encounter copyright problems
later on. A big part of protecting your domain is creating one that
is unique and differs from the norm.
In protecting your
brand name, you should definitely take into account the trademark
that you choose. Trademarks can be very territorial in the sense
that you only have domestic rights to the trademark that you
register, it is not internationally covered. Domain names however,
are covered and protected in every single country on the planet.
There are many different services you can use that will effectively
protect your domain brand name. Some of these services that you can
purchase include being fed information regarding which domain names
and trademarks are under attack and access to a legal team that can
help you with any issues you have. There are many lawyers who
actually specialize in these kind of internet brand name cases.
The main purpose of
using these kind of services is to make sure that nobody else is
trying to register domain names that are a little too similar to
yours. You will be able to know about anyone who is trying any of
these things right away so you can take care of it before it becomes
a larger problem. When using these services, you can also receive
information on domain names that are being altered. In this case
information is power, and the more you have the better prepared you
will be to deal with a possible legal dispute concerning your
trademarks or brand names. It always helps to seek the advice and
services of professionals who are considered experts in this field.
There's a
relatively-new, and highly troubling trend in domain name squatting
that can affect you and your business quite negatively: personal
domain name squatting. While in the past it was relatively common
for domain name squatters to buy up high-profile company names, in
recent years it has become more and more common for these same
people to buy up domain names that are the full names of important
executives and key personnel at large companies. These sites are
then promoted so that they show up on the first page of a Google
search for the name. Then the company attempts to sell the domain
name for a hefty fee, essentially extorting the personnel or their
parent business in order to regain control over their online
reputation.
Now, it's important to realize that this very likely violates
ICANN's code of use, specifically section 4b, which states that
someone has registered a domain in bad faith if: "(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..."
The thing is, while
this has become a relatively cut and dry issue when it comes to
actual trademarks, helping to push back the tide of domain
squatters, or at the very least making it easy for business to
regain their trademarked domains, in the case of personal names the
language is a bit more murky. While it seems apparent that
registering a personal name of a high-profile person for the purpose
of reselling it to them at a huge profit would violate the principle
of this rule, in practice it is much more difficult to show someone
was operating in bad faith - after all, thousands of people may have
the same name, unlike a registered trademark, which is explicitly
protected by statute.
Once someone has
access to your full name as a domain name, they can do quite a bit
of damage to your personal brand. Google and other search engines
give a great deal of weight to domains that are formed entirely of a
search phrase when determining the results for that phrase, so even
with minimal SEO a domain that is your whole name will likely show
up near the top of the search results. At its most benevolent this
will mean anyone searching for your name will find a parking page,
which reflects poorly on you; at its worst the site could forward to
pornographic material, material that reflects poorly on you, or a
competitor.
Of course, there's
a very easy way to guard against this sort of squatting: either hire
a reputable reputation management company, or go out and register
the domains that reflect your personal brand in any commonly-used
permutations. With the extremely low cost of domain registration,
this is an investment that will pay off for years to come.
When many people think
about setting up their own web site, whether for personal or
business reasons, they have a list of things they need to do. This
usually includes choosing a content management system to organize
and present the site and creating the look and feel. The importance
of selecting the right domain name is often overlooked choosing the
right name is not as easy as it sounds. This plays a very active
role in how well people can find your site as well as how easily
they can remember the address. An effective name is a crucial part
of the overall web site design.
When selecting the
right domain name, there are a few things to keep in mind. It should
be short and easy to pronounce. Many people try to be clever and use
a unique spelling or incorporate numbers and letters to create a
word. Although it is fun, it makes finding your site more difficult.
It is worth the time to sit down and brainstorm ideas. Start by
listing the five keywords phrases that best describe the domain you
want. If this will be a business site or one that is focused on a
particular topic, use words and phrases that relate to those
subjects.
Most businesses use
their name as their web site domain. This helps build brand
recognition. Once you have found the name that you think works best,
make sure there are no similar domains already registered to other
users. It is recommended that you do not use "the" at the beginning
of the name, plurals or hyphens when selecting the right domain
name. Web searchers usually cannot remember which combinations to
use. If there are already similar domains, then those will be shown
higher in search results at first. The dot.com suffix is the most
commonly used option.
If you want to increase brand recognition, and
web site traffic, choose a
domain with
this suffix as an option. Most users are still not comfortable using
dot-net or dot-org. Selecting the right domain name for your site
can be the difference between being found quickly and not being
found at all. Short, catchy names that describe what the site is for
or that contains your business name are the best way to increase
traffic to your site. It also builds recognition. Site addresses
that are easy to type and remember will increase your branding
marketing value.
