Do i steer clear of trademarks in domains?

[CooperOIl]

Tweet

Hi,

I am new to this and have received some advice which I am now sceptical about.

It was suggested that I choose products to promote and then register domain names containing the product name which is often trademarked and hope to gain high organic listings.

My original view was that I would have to use adwords to promote products obviously using brand names in the advert but not in the domain.
And then use SEO to get higher in the organic listings but not using the actual trademark in the domain name.

Please can you let me know what your views are?

I would appreciate your help to save me getting in hot water!

Thanks,

Cooper

[moredial]

The use of brands is very much down to the owner of the brand. Some merchants list this as part of their terms for affiliates. If the brand owner is silent, your best bet is to ask permission before using the brand name - and that includes PPC campaigns.
[I can think of lots of examples where using the brand name will make sense from a marketing point of view.]

If you look at things logically, using the brand name is no better than shooting yourself in the foot. If someone knows the brand name, do you think they will click on a 'passing-off' domain rather than the real domain?

[CooperOIl]

Hi,

Thanks for your detailed reply. The reason I was told it would be useful was to assist with organic search listings for the product name. However, having read more threads about it on here and other sites, I am going to steer clear of using the brand name in a domain. It seems to be more trouble than it is worth.

Thanks

[tbp]

Personally I usually never risk it. With niche sites you go for a long tail term, so you look at the key phrases people are searching on and picking one of those for the domain. There is almost always a generic term you can use so no trademarked words.

I`ve read about a number of people who've run into trouble using trademarked words in domains, and consequences can range from being forced to hand over the domain to having to pay damages to the trademark owner. Its usually impossible to fight because of high legal fees which most site owners can't afford to pay.

[CooperOIl]

Thanks. I am going to steer clear. I don't think its conducive to a long term business

[loquax]

If you enjoy dealing with hard nosed London lawyers who like squeezing you for every pound you have just for writing some obnoxious letters on behalf of their clients - go for it.

If you want a quiet life - steer clear of trademark infringement

Jason

[Barry]

I once had a call from Warner Brothers because I made a site for a client who was selling registered Harry Potter stuff online. I backed down straight away, let me tell ya.

I am not saying that its not worth the risk though, I have a few domains with brands in and some are doing well.

I cant give you any advise other than - don't rule it out. Some brands only sell to other retailers and not to the public, in this case I am sure they wouldn't care, however some brands would sue you for not displaying their company emblem with the correct hex colour. Its a hard judgement to make.

Ta

Baz

[Lawcom]

I think adding the brand in to a domain can work very well .. IF you can sell that product cheaper than the brand itself.. even if your site subsequently ranks high in SE people will always check the parent company first and maybe get back to you if after they have searched a bit more they conclude you are the best price..

if it is the same or not much difference in price they will go with the registered company...

[CooperOIl]

Thanks for all of the feedback it has been useful. I am not going to use the brand in any domains intially. But once I have started to prove myself to the vendors, I may ask for permission which would probably be easier to get once I have proved myself.